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X Factor host Dermot O'Leary has defended Cheryl Cole's refusal to vote on Sunday's results show.

She wouldn't choose between her two acts, Treyc Cohen and Katie Waissel, who faced elimination.

Many fans were angry that this meant Treyc had to leave the show, despite Waissel struggling with her final song.

But O'Leary says Cole didn't have to vote and the rules were not rewritten: "There's no precedent to it. There's not a right or wrong way to do this."

He admits it was awkward for him: "You find out two or three minutes before what's going to happen. My producer said if Cheryl decides to opt out we go to majority vote.

"She did decide to opt out and then she said, 'Come back to me and we'll do deadlock'.

"But you can't do that because it devalues the other two judge's votes. It wouldn't have made sense."

O'Leary says he didn't have any choice as producers tell him which way to go via an earpiece: "No one in my ear knows which way the judges are going to vote.

"But they tell me where to go next. It would have been a lot easier for me if Cheryl had been last."

Fellow X Factor judge Dannii Minogue admits she would have done the same thing if she had to choose between two of her acts: "I don't think I could do it. I think I would have opted out as well."

She says she has sympathy for Cole: "It's a tough call and everybody's going to judge you for what you do.

"But I just ask everybody to put yourself in that person's shoes for one second. It's pretty hard."

Dermot O'Leary says this isn't the first time this has happened: "The same thing happened in my first ever show. Sharon (Osbourne) kicked off her shoes and walked off with a string of profanities and we went to majority vote."

As for Katie Waissel, O'Leary says he feels for her this week: "The hardest thing now for her is going to be this week because you feel the knives are out for her.

"In terms of everyone saying, 'She should have gone, it shouldn't have been Treyc'.

"And she's been there three times. I don't recall anyone being in the bottom two three times and surviving."

"It can't help her. I think she's quite a fragile girl sometimes."