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X Factor's Wagner exposes 'fakery' on controversial talent show: 'Nothing you saw on TV was real'
Wagner, 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. 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.
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