X Factor star Wagner has claimed that the controversial ITV talent show was ‘scripted’ and that ‘nothing viewers saw was real’.

The singer, 69, reached the quarter-finals of the show in 2010 in a season that was won by Matt Cardle and also spawned chart-topping boyband One Direction.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Wagner has lifted the lid on went down behind the scenes, confessing he had hardly any contact with his mentor Louis Walsh and insisting producers pulled all the strings.

‘The judges are actors’, he claimed. ‘It was a reality TV show but nothing is real… Everything is planned in advance and my contact with Louis was just the for cameras.’

Insisting that the vocal coaches had more of a mentor than the judges, he went on: ‘So yeah, I never had much contact with Louis, but I must say he was pleasant every time I met him.’

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X Factor star Wagner has claimed that the controversial ITV talent show was ‘scripted’ and that ‘nothing viewers saw was real’

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The singer, 69, reached the quarter-finals of the show in 2010 in a season that was won by Matt Cardle and also spawned chart-topping boyband One Direction

Wagner continued: ‘I don’t think the judges even got to choose the songs. I’m sure the producers would pick the songs for us.’

He added that the judges’ feedback also wasn’t genuine, claiming the vocal coaches would give feedback to producers so they could script the televised interactions…

‘They [the judges] would look at the camera, but every now and then they would look away and read the script. Some would look more than others!’

He mused: ‘The show couldn’t trust the “judges”, everybody became a judge! At first it was that image of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne were “experts in music”, but then all of a sudden everybody was in and everybody became judges…

‘The script was to make sure the entertainment would keep going because they couldn’t rely on the judges to be witty or quick thinking.’

When wildcard Wagner appeared on the show, critics of The X Factor staged an internet campaign for him to win the show, saying they should vote to keep him in to ‘p**s off’ Simon Cowell.

Yet ultimately, he was was eliminated in sixth place after a unanimous vote by judges in a sing-off against Mary Byrne.

At the time, Simon suggested that an internet campaign to ‘derail’ the show by making him the unlikely winner had failed.

‘There were people out there trying to derail this show,’ he said after Wagner’s exit. ‘We’ve put this show back in the hands of the public.’

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Wagner lifted the lid on went down behind the scenes, confessing he had hardly any contact with his mentor Louis Walsh and insisting producers pulled all the strings

Discussing the show, Wagner mused: ‘It’s not democracy, it’s showbusiness.

‘They knew that they wanted to promote One Direction and everybody else were just extras in the play.

‘All I know is that on the day that was sent home a girl from merchandizing said that I was the only one who had sold all my merchandise.

‘She said that I was at the top of the votes and One Direction was behind me – and then I was eliminated!’

There is no suggestion that the vote was rigged.

Wagner also revealed that Louis faked interactions between the pair.

In every episode, Louis kept mispronouncing his name, saying it like Wag-nah rather than the correct Vawg-ner.

‘It was a joke that Louis agreed with me!’ Wagner explained. ‘He said “I’m gonna call you Wagner all the time and you’re gonna say Louis, my name is Vawg-ner.”

‘That was fun and it was Louis’s idea. It was smart.’

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When Wagner appeared on the show, critics of The X Factor staged an internet campaign for him to win the show, (L-R John Adeleye, Storm Lee, Louis, Mary Byrne and Wagner)

Created by Simon in 2004, The X Factor helped to launch the careers of some of the UK’s biggest stars, including Little Mix, Olly Mursand Alexanra Burke.

But behind closed doors, the ITV show was far from a rosy experience for many of its contestants, with some claiming that bosses convinced them to fake certain moments in a bid to boost ratings.

While the series pulled in a record 18 million viewers at its peak, in later years it came under fire for manufacturing results and storylines, and was quietly placed on hiatus in 2018.

Despite not winning The X Factor, Wagner still managed to cash in on his fame, selling personalised videos to fans.

‘From the videos I would get £100,000 a year,’ he revealed. ‘I used to make an average of £2,000 a week just on videos. So that was good.’

Yet when sales dropped, Wagner ended up trying out a new business, briefly owning a hair transplant clinic in his native Brazil.

But it wasn’t a role he enjoyed and Wagner ended up returning to the UK where he started his band: Kings With Wings: The Wagner Rock Band – a name he says is inspired by his love of birdwatching.

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Despite not winning The X Factor, Wagner still managed to cash in on his fame, selling personalised videos to fans

‘I got lots of bookings but I felt so awkward singing She Bangs, because my God, that is a stupid song but people love it,’ he explained.

‘I sang She Bangs wherever I went. But with the band I’m having my own repertoire. I’m singing great songs, Jumping Jack Flash, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley…

‘And there’s nothing like singing with musicians instead of singing to backing tracks.’

An X Factor spokesperson declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.