COWELL'S A COWARD; THE X FACTOR THE FALL-OUT.

Byline: MARK JEFFERIES; FIONA CUMMINS

THE furious grandma of Lucie Jones yesterday insisted Simon Cowell was desperate to get her off The X Factor because he feared she would beat his acts.

Jean Davies, 74, said: "I think that Simon Cowell chickened out.

"I said all along if it came down to Lucie and anyone else he would get rid of her because he is afraid of her. He is afraid of her voice. He said all along he wanted a male singer to win this year. He is protecting his own acts.

"I'm going to vote for the twins every week and I hope everyone else does too."

Jean's outrage after Lucie was dumped following Cowell's shock decision to back twins John and Edward is shared by thousands of X Factor fans.

More than 3,000 viewers complained to ITV, claiming his support for Jedward after previously blasting them smacked of a blatant fix.

His move led to Deadlock among the judges and Welsh singer Lucie got the boot because she had the lowest number of public votes.

Many fans were so angry they contacted TV regulators Ofcom who could investigate.

ITV played down the row, saying: "Reflecting the huge popularity of a show watched by almost 17million, The X Factor result can divide opinion and provoke comment from viewers."

Lucie's mentor Dannii Minogue is said to have laid into Simon after the show over his incredible U-turn.

And Lucie's boyfriend Kris Smith said: "Gutted for poor Lucie, what a disgraceful decision.

"Can't believe she went out, thought I was watching a singing talent show, obviously wrong."

Defiant Cowell, 50, yesterday strenuously defended his decision.

He said: "I know there will be lots of people who will criticise the decision to let it go to Deadlock.

"But I honestly could not have predicted the way public voting had gone. I never get told the voting figures.

"I don't think either of the bottom two acts could have won. But the twins are good entertainment even if they can't sing and there would be criticism either way.

"I really couldn't make up my mind. That is why I left it to the public."

Friends say privately Cowell is worried he has damaged his own reputation by sitting on the fence and not ruthlessly getting rid of the twins.

TV insiders have suggested he was more worried about ratings than singing talent and therefore needed the twins and their outrageous routines for a few more weeks. Simon may also have attempted to persuade Cheryl Cole to vote for Jedward so he could back Lucie and save face.

An insider revealed: "It seems Simon may have tried to get Cheryl to vote for the twins so he could save Lucie and then it could have gone to deadlock without him, or the show, losing any credibility. But Cheryl knows her own mind and didn't want to take the fall for him. She thought Lucie deserved to stay."

After the show ITV stopped viewers from posting negative comments about Cowell on its website forum, claiming it had crashed from the "sheer weight of outrage". But fans suspect the site had been suspended in order to stop the anti-Cowell rants from going public.

On other websites fans vented their fury. A viewer called Katrina K said: "Simon could have saved Lucie, the better singer, but chose publicity for the show instead. Do you think if Jedward were against one of his boys, he would have taken it to deadlock? Do me a favour."

Another poster said: "I am never watching X Factor again. Simon's noticed the huge publicity John and Edward are getting and therefore kept them in the competition to keep ratings up."

Yet another fan said: "I don't know if I can watch The X Factor any more. It's becoming a huge joke."

Lucie yesterday put a brave face on getting dumped. She said: "It is always going to be about exciting the viewers from the word go. It is a TV show as well as a talent competition and it is a very popular TV show."

Cowell previously described Jedward as "deluded" and "vile" and claimed they can neither sing nor dance.

He has vowed to explain his shock decision to back them on next week's show, which is expected to draw another huge audience despite the row. Sunday's show was watched by 16.6million.

CAPTION(S):

X RATED Fans have blasted Simon Cowell SHOCK Judge Louis after show SUPPORT Cheryl Cole voted for Lucie Jones TWINNERS John and Edward UNBOWED Lucie at press conference in London yesterday OUT Lucie breaks down at her X Factor exit