X Factor: Celebrity had viewers on the edge of their seats as Simon Cowell decided to switch up the rules at the last minute.
After Victoria Ekanoye was eliminated by the public, the judges were forced to choose between Martin Bashir and Jonny Labey.
Louis Walsh gave his vote to the soap star, while Nicole Scherzinger tried to save her act, Martin.
And while the vulnerable contestants had one vote each, things proved too difficult for the head judge Simon, as he refused to vote on the matter.
Asking for it to go back to the public, Dermot O’Leary revealed that they had chosen to save the journalist – even though the 56-year-old forgot his words during his performance.
On exiting the stage, Jonny told the host: ‘Yeah, I mean to go from the safe seat to this position is a shock.
‘It has been nice to get in touch with music again, I felt I had more to give but it’s a competition, and I have to respect everyone here, and thank everyone for the opportunity.
‘I’m sad to go home, but thank you for the opportunity.’
Martin then took the mic, and laughed: ‘There is some kind of psychotic breakdown in the country at the moment, what has happened?’
Earlier on in the programme, the reporter was busy singing a reggae-remix of Lionel Richie’s Easy when he suddenly stopped as the backing track continued to play out.
‘I’m so sorry,’ the father-of-three said after a few seconds of silence. ‘I’ve forgotten my words!’
Martin blamed his mistake on a last-minute switch up due to copyright, meaning that he couldn’t perform his original song choice.
After the awkward gaffe, he may have been expecting a tongue-lashing from Simon, but Mr Nasty was actually…quite nice.
‘I hope the audience gives you a second chance,’ the music mogul said.
Both the public and Nicole had Martin’s back, as she begged Simon to save her act, telling him: ‘Martin is going to do an amazing performance next week, he needs another shot, he changed the show last minute.’
The X Factor: Celebrity returns next Saturday at 8.10pm on ITV.
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