Those tuning in to this year's X Factor final on Sunday night may have seen the competition as somewhat of a foregone conclusion.
Sam Bailey had been the runaway favourite from the very early stages of the competition, and it never really looked like baby-faced Nicholas had what it took to overcome the Sam juggernaut.
However, many viewers felt that the young Scot didn't really get the fair treatment he deserved on the final weekend, and now the teenager has spoken out.
The runner-up criticised judge Gary Barlow and his own mentor Louis Walsh over their treatment of him in the final.
The 17-year-old has accused Take That singer Barlow of ‘not liking’ him after he was the only one of the four judges to refuse him a standing ovation for his performance.
He said: ‘Gary had a problem with me throughout the whole show. He never seemed to like me and whenever I gave a good performance he would pick up on the smallest things in the world.
‘I was disappointed with Louis saying, "Vote for Sam and her single everyone." It felt like Sam was getting all the love.’
Nicholas' mother was also unimpressed, saying: ‘It was completely unprofessional, Gary refusing to stand after Nicholas’s song.
‘As for Louis, I don’t know what that was about and it was rude of him. He should have been backing his own act and not encouraging the public to vote for their opponent. I think Louis just speaks without thinking sometimes.’
Nicholas did not attend Gary's after-show party on Sunday night, but he will be reunited with many of his fellow contestants for the X Factor tour in February.
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