Daniel Evans has revealed he never thought he could win The X Factor.

The 38-year-old father-of-three - who was booted out of the show last night - confessed his goal was to get into the final, but he never imagined winning the ITV talent show.

Evans said: "I couldn't honestly picture myself winning the show, and obviously now it's the case.

"Winning was never in my mind. I just dreamt of getting to the final. I was upsetting the odds every week by staying in. The public kept me there.

"I'm upset to be out. I was hoping to push on a little bit longer for us older people.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to get this far and every week when the public kept me in, it was best feeling in the world. Thanks to the public I got this far."

The pool cleaner managed to stay in the show for six weeks despite constant heavy criticism from judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh. Walsh at one point likened his performance to "Ricky Gervais singing karaoke".

Evans said: "It's no secret the judges are not my biggest fans. I've been through worse than that, I can take a few words from those two. It's no problem.

"They're entitled to say what they want, they're entitled to their opinion.

"Maybe I'm not their cup of tea. But the public showed for six weeks that they liked me. I do think I had something to offer. The public saw that but the judges didn't, that's the way it goes."

Evans hit back at criticism in the tabloid press that X Factor producers had played on his 'sob story' of the recent death of his wife, leaving him to bring up his one-year-old daughter, Ana Maria, alone.

He said: "Of all things I heard that was the one that hurt me the most when someone said I was only progressing because of the death of my wife and I would never ever play on that story.

"But the reason I came into this competition is my wife had passed away and it was her wish. I only mentioned it because I was asked."

Evans was also accused by the tabloids of hiding his two other children from previous relationships.

He insisted: "Right at the start, on my first audition it says 'Daniel father-of-three' and my daughter and my son's mother were there. So why people think I'm keeping them a secret I don't know. They were there.

"I would never make a secret of my children I'm proud of my kids, I love all my kids. My kids know I love them. I've got nothing to prove to them."

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