“I’M STILL so gutted”.

The words of a tearful Carolynne Poole, hours after her dramatic exit from The X Factor.

And the Birkby singer was at the centre of claims of a TV show “fix” as there was fury over the deciding vote of Louis Walsh.

It was Louis who last year rejected Carolynne when he took her to the judge’s house stage.

And this year, he voted for the exit vote to go to deadlock – even though he said he wanted to save Carolynne.

There were claims a show producer was seen whispering to the judges before the votes were cast.

Carolynne was the first to leave the live shows, with the public voting to keep flamboyant singer Rylan Clarke.

“It’s unreal,” said 32-year-old Carolynne, of Birkby, as she contemplated the decision.

“I like Louis and I still have a soft spot for him. You know what he’s going to be like.

“As soon as I heard I was in the bottom two after Saturday’s show I knew it would be difficult. I know the public had given Rylan a hard time but he had become a friend.

“My mentor, Gary Barlow, was fuming about the vote and I still haven’t had the chance to talk to him properly. He was upset and so was I because I thought I had let him down.”

Carolynne tweeted to her thousands of followers last night: “Thank you all for all your lovely comments, really do mean a lot to me & are keeping me focused on the bigger picture. Love ya’s xxx”.

The furore over Carolynne’s exit centred on the final vote cast by Louis Walsh. Barlow and Tulisa had supported Carolynne, while Nicole Scherzinger voted for Clark, who she is mentoring.

Walsh had the final vote and he appeared unable to make up his mind for several minutes.

“Carolynne I love country music and I love what you bring to the competition,” he said.

“Rylan you’re the entertainment factor, I love what you do.”