A triumphant Joe McElderry has spoken to The Mirror and owes all of his success to his mentor Cheryl Cole. “She’s amazing. She is so caring and has been a real friend to me.”

“What has just happened? I can’t believe it. I nearly fainted at the end. I feel like I’m just floating around and like jelly.”

Simon Cowell added: “I have a mixture of emotions, I am sorry for Olly but I am happy for Joe.” Referring to Cheryl, he said: “This one is going to be so smug, but she did a great job. The two of them together deserved to win.”

So what next for Joe? There are a lot of tongues wagging about a duet with Mrs Cole and many predict Joe could now earn as much as £5million over the next two years, especially if he is exported to the US.

Tags: Cheryl Cole, Pop, X Factor