Christopher Maloney turned up 'drunk and abusive' to X Factor finale rehearsals

James Arthur may have won The X Factor, but it is third-placed Christopher Maloney who is getting all the headlines after he reportedly turned up drunk and abusive to rehearsals for the finale on Sunday.

The Liverpool lad was voted out of the show on Saturday, leaving Arthur and Jahmene Douglas to battle it out for the winner's title at Manchester Central.

All of the finalists headed to the venue to perform on the last show, but Christopher was not included when it was shown on TV - and the reasons for his no-show have now been revealed.

The Sun reports he was "clearly drunk" when he arrived for the run-through of the group song, and was fuming to discover he only had one line in the medley - prompting him to storm back to his hotel.

However, despite claiming he wanted to head home, Christopher, who was mentored by Gary Barlow, allegedly returned to the auditorium on Sunday night and attempted to get back on the show.

A source tells the newspaper: "He showed up wanting to go on stage but they had to turn him away as they were already on stage and he missed the dress rehearsal."

A spokesman for The X Factor said: "Chris decided he no longer wanted to be part of The X Factor Final and has gone back to Liverpool."

The drama comes as it emerged the crooner pulled in the highest number of votes in every show in the first seven of the 10 weeks of the live finals.

Eventual winner Arthur hovered around the middle for most of the contest, but this changed in week eight when he sang Let's Get It On, taking 40.7 per cent of the public vote.

After that he topped the table every week - and now he has a potential all-star collaboration on the cards.

Ed Sheeran has invited Arthur for a jam session, telling him, "Well done. Let's get into the studio together as soon as the show's done."

A source tells The Sun, "Ed sees some of himself in James. He likes his style and is convinced a collaboration would be a big hit."