‘JOKE ACT’ STARS IN STAND-OFF
A BATTLE of the X Factor joke acts broke out last night.
On Saturday viewers saw flamboyant Eurovision singer and pony tail swinger Slavko Kalezic put through to Boot Camp.
And last night outrageous Big Brother contestant Simon “Showbiz” Gross, decked in a shiny gold suit, got through too.
Both are now battling for a place at Judges’ Houses but it seems it is not all harmony between them.
Simon said: “Slavko is a gimmick. He’s very nice but very quiet. I don’t know that he has an electric personality. “I can add energy and punch to the show. I’m not sure Slavko really can. It’s all very well having lovely voices but if they have no punch or energy – forget it. Look at Honey G. Everyone talked about her.”
Simon admits he is braced for a backlash for appearing on The X Factor after he was savaged by viewers for his over-thetop performance on Big Brother in 2015 and even got trolled with death threats. He said: “I’m expecting it. Haters will never go away. But I’m a fighter. I want to entertain people. I’m not going away. You haven’t seen the end of me.” Strictly trounced Simon Cowell’s, below, flagship show in Saturday night’s ratings battle. The two programmes clashed for 40 minutes as BBC One aired its first night of the dancing competition. And Strictly romped home with a ratings win, drawing in a peak audience of 10.2million, up 700,000 on last year. The X Factor peaked at 6m. A show source said last night: “X Factor is averaging 7.5m this series based on consolidated ratings.”