Noel Gallagher has hit out at The X Factor, claiming it has "absolutely nothing to do with music".

The Oasis star is quoted as saying: "If somebody is dangling this carrot of 'fame and fortune' in front of a check-out girl from Barnsley who can sing like Britney Spears then they're going to go for it, right?

"But it seems to bring on instant mental illness. You're going in at the top, with a number one that sells 750,000 or whatever and you've got someone like Dannii Minogue telling you you're really talented.

"You spend a year slogging around the country and then what? You can't go back to Barnsley and be a check-out girl because that would look bad. So you end up either trying to be an actress or trying to sustain your profile by going on celebrity shows.

"Instead of instant fame and celebrity and all your ex-boyfriends and girlfriends coming out of the cupboard and your family being ripped apart the prize ought to be, 'I'll introduce you to someone who might introduce you to someone who might, if you're very lucky, know a producer who'd record one of your songs'.

"That's the only way to make any money. Otherwise you sell five million records and earn 50 grand."

He added: "The X Factor has absolutely nothing to do with music and everything to do with television."

Meanwhile, Louis Walsh has admitted that none his acts will win the show.

He told a magazine that "it'll be Simon (Cowell) or Cheryl (Cole)" who win, adding: "It's not about winning."

Bad Lashes, one of Walsh's bands, became the first contenders to be voted off the show.

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