X Factor - Underdog Leon Jackson takes the crown
17 December 2007 - Scottish crooner Leon Jackson shocked the nation on Saturday night by being crowned the winner of X Factor and landing a £1 million record deal.
The 18-year-old was widely tipped to finish runner-up to Welsh tenor Rhydian Roberts before Saturday's Live Final.
But Rhydian needed the public to vote for him on the night, and they didn't, so it was Leon who emerged victorious, getting less than one per-cent more of the vote than Rhydian.
A stunned Leon said: "I set out to pursue this because I love music, but as it went along I knew I could potentially change my mum's life."
The teenager from Whitburn in Scotland had been working in a clothes shop before auditioning for X Factor - but now he has landed a lucrative record deal and is expected to top the Christmas charts with "When You Believe".
Leon was quick to extend his thanks to the voting public too: "Just a big thank you to all my friends back home, and everybody who's voted, every single person, cos they've went out of their way to spend their hard-earned money on me.
"I just appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."
Leon's mentor Dannii Minogue said: "I cannot wait to see what he's going to do with it (£1 million record contract)."
