Surprise as Moyles voted out of X Factor

A surprised Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles was knocked out of the semi-final of X Factor: Battle of the Stars, tonight.

Moyles’ departure leaves former EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin and England and Bath rugby player Matt Stevens to fight it out in tomorrow night’s final of the ITV show.

The DJ sang Otis Redding’s Hard to Handle and Wonderwall by Oasis, but the two performances failed to wow the voting public.

Asked how he felt after the results of the vote were announced, he replied: “I’m quite surprised actually.”

Earlier he confessed he thought he’d never get this far or be taking it as seriously as he was.

Before the vote, the judges were reluctant to predict who might go through to the final.

After an energetic performance of Hard to Handle by Moyles, Sharon Osbourne said: “On entertainment value alone you should win this show.”

Simon Cowell told the Radio 1 star after his opening performance: “You’ve brought exactly the right attitude to this show – you tried your best, being competitive and you bring a sense of fun.

“You have my vote for the final.”

The X Factor judge was less sure about Wonderwall, although Moyles assured him: “I was charming and brilliant”.

But viewers did not agree and tonight’s semi final result leaves Benjamin the hot favourite to win the singing competition, with odds of 1/2 being offered by bookies William Hill, compared to 6/4 for Stevens.

The actress wowed the judges and audience with Billie Holliday’s That Old Devil Called Love and Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, while Stevens sang I Got A Woman by Ray Charles and She’s The One by Robbie Williams.

On Monday magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee became the first celebrities to be booted off the show.

TV nutritionist Gillian McKeith, the host of You Are What You Eat, followed them on Tuesday and glamour model Michelle Marsh left on Wednesday.

Reality TV veterans Rebecca Loos and James Hewitt were booted off on Thursday, followed by ex-Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson on Friday and the singing chefts -Aldo Zilli, Paul Rankin, Ross Burden and Jean-Christophe Novelli - were voted off last night.

Contestants are appearing on the show to raise money for charity.