X-Factor petition approaches 50,000

A petition to have ex-X-Factor contestant Laura White reinstated has now received nearly 43,000 signatures.

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The petition to reinstate Laura White in popular TV talent show X-Factor has now received nearly 43,000 signatures.

X-Factor petition rockets

The decision to eject White from the show was met with shock by her mentor Cheryl Cole, who appeared to be too angry to speak immediately afterwards, and legions of the 21-year-old Mancunian's fans.

White was in the sing-off at the end of the show after receiving fewer public votes than other contestants.

Judges Simon Cowell, Danni Minogue and Louis Walsh all voted for opponent Ruth Lorenzo to stay in the contest.

Many signatories on the petition have expressed anger and even claimed that they were unable to get through on special telephone lines to register their votes for White.

"What an absolute disgrace, never watching the show again if Laura is not reinstated, I tried ringing to vote for Laura - couldnt get through," wrote one.

"Bloody travesty - couldn't even get through to vote," wrote another.

Petition author Laura Reading said she has contacted both ITV and Ofcom about the matter though has had no response from either yet.

Ofcom told Web User that it was still considering what, if any, action to take.

"We have received complaints about the X-Factor programme broadcast on Saturday 8th November. These complaints are being assessed against our Broadcasting Code," an Ofcom spokesman said.

Programme makers denied any irregularities in voting systems.

"We would like to reiterate that there were absolutely no issues with the phone lines or the voting system during last week’s X-Factor, they are subject to rigorous procedures and protocols," an ITV spokesman said.

"The viewers vote for the act they want to keep in the competition and last Saturday the simple fact is Laura White and Ruth Lorenzo were in the bottom two because they had the least amount of votes," the spokesman continued.

Fans of the show can play an X-Factor game called Which X-Factor Judge Are You at the What's on TV website.

http://tinyurl.com/laurawhitepetition
www.whatsontv.co.uk

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