Dermot O'Leary has claimed that it would be "impossible" for him to remain unaffected by the emotional stories of X Factor contestants.

The show's host admitted that he has been genuinely moved by some of the hopefuls at this year's auditions.

"There was one young girl who lost her Dad in between the first audition and the judges' callback - it was her family's wish that she should still go through with the competition," O'Leary explained. "In a situation like that, it is impossible not to get caught up with someone's emotions and it became more than a TV story.

"In that case it was all about this girl's dream and that was her moment in front of the judges to fulfil her father's wish. The cameras don't matter and of course you feel like you have got to look after them and suddenly you don't really care what questions you are asking - you are just hoping they get through."

O'Leary also revealed that there have been plenty of bizarre auditions to keep viewers entertained in the coming weeks.

Discussing one strange hopeful, he said: "I met a guy who changed his name to Sheriff Lawton. He didn't want to win The X Factor to be a popstar. He wanted to start his own crime fighting agency to work with the police and needed the £1 million prize money to set it up - you couldn't write it!"