Dermot O’Leary defends The X Factor after number of allegations were made against show

Sure, he might now host This Morning with Alison Hammond, but to many of us, Dermot O’Leary will forever be the bloke who introduced us to singing hopefuls on Saturday nights.

With a brief break in 2015, the 51-year-old presented The X Factor from 2007 right up until its final series in 2018.

And while he’s still arguably one of Britain’s most beloved TV hosts, that’s not kept him totally out of the drama.

The X Factor was a huge staple in UK telly for a good chunk of time but in recent years, a number of allegations have been made against the ITV show.

But O’Leary has spoken out in its defence. Previous contestants like Rebecca Ferguson and Cher Lloyd have slammed Simon Cowell’s talent show, with two former judges also running their mouths on Celebrity Big Brother last year.

O'Leary presented the staple show. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

There’s no denying The X Factor produced some mega stars from One Direction to Little Mix, but that doesn’t mean it was necessarily sunshine and rainbows for everyone.

Former winner Matt Terry previously said he hopes the show ‘never’ returns as it’s ‘not good for people’, while Katie Waissel claimed it ‘ruined’ her life.

O’Leary, however, appears to be defending The X Factor against any criticism, as he says most of the negative experiences came after contestants left the set.

“If the show was made now, it’d be made differently. The culture is different, but it was pretty much always celebratory,” he told The Times.

“Look, not everyone on the show is going to knock it out of the park. Not everyone is going to have the best experience.”

He went on to say ‘most of the people’ on it were ‘treated really well’.

“And a lot of people who have talked negatively about their experiences are talking about what happened after they left,” he claimed.

He spoke about 'duty of care' being owed to musicians. (ITV)

“I think 99 out of 100 actually missed the show — they missed the bubble. So if there is a duty of care to be looked at, it’s what happens afterwards.”

O’Leary also discussed a need for duty of care for musicians across the industry as he reflected on Liam Payne’s death last year.

“He was both wise and sort of a young soul at the same time,” the presenter said of the singer.

“And that’s an industry-wide conversation that should be had. Duty of care is the most important thing when doing shows like this and I wouldn’t dare to presume to speak for everyone. But in my experience, it was always taken seriously on the show — and would be even more thorough now.”