Simon Cowell: I will tell fans on TV why I backed Jedward

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Slammed: fans have turned on Simon Cowell

He has faced a huge public backlash since the sing-off between the twins — known as Jedward — and Lucie Jones, 18, who was voted off the show by the public after a deadlock from judges.

X Factor Blog: Why didn't Simon get rid of Jedward when he had the chance?

Despite previously referring to the 18-year-old brothers as "vile" and "deluded", Cowell, 50, is expected to explain on this Saturday's show why he backed them.

It came as more than 3,000 viewers complained to ITV about Cowell's shock "fix" decision. Some have also threatened to boycott the show and suggested Cowell may have known that the public vote had gone against Lucie when he forced the deadlock. Last night Cowell denied the claim, saying: "I could not have predicted the way public voting had gone."

It was also reported today that Cowell tried to persuade fellow judge Cheryl Cole to vote for Jedward.

An insider said: "It seems Simon may have tried to get Cheryl to vote for the twins so he could save Lucie and it could have gone to deadlock without him, or the show, losing credibility."