He was one of the X Factor's more unlikely stars. But the 45-year-old, unemployed, bedsit resident's time in the spotlight is over, and no longer can he turn Gary Barlow's criticisms into innuendo.

Still, as people who've just been kicked off TV talent shows go, Johnny was surprisingly chipper and philosophical when we spoke to him only hours after Louis Walsh had sent him home then blubbed in his ear.