X Factor star kicked out
X Factor winner Leon Jackson was homeless and sleeping rough in his car when he auditioned for the show that made him a star.
He was thrown out by his mum Wendy because she was fed up with him "wasting his time" singing in karaoke bars. She said he would never amount to anything and ordered him to get a proper job.
But he auditioned for the show anyway - and has since dedicated his victory to Wendy after they had a tearful reconciliation.
Millions of viewers warmed to Leon as he spoke of his tight bond with his mum, whose husband walked out when Leon was two.
But until now there has been no mention of the explosive row between Leon and doctors' receptionist Wendy, 40.
Leon, 18, stormed out of their house in Whitburn, West Lothian, with just a suitcase in June - a fortnight before his first X Factor audition.
He ended up sleeping in his eight-year-old Citroen Saxo, until a friend let him stay on his couch.
Their bust-up left Leon, who pipped favourite Rhydian to the X Factor title last Saturday, to face the nerve-racking auditions on his own. But, just months later, more than 13million viewers watched as Leon broke down after winning the final and sobbed: "I did this for my mum."
Now friend Gavin Murphy, 45, has finally revealed the full story behind Leon's success.
"Leon's row with his mum was a turning point," said builder Gavin last night. "It gave him the push to get through that audition and win. He told me his mum wanted him to go to college and get a proper job.
"But he told her that while doing karaoke he'd realised something about himself - he loved singing. They had a blazing row and she kicked him out."
Gavin added: "It was this that gave him the determination to succeed. He felt guilty and desperately wanted to prove to his mum he wasn't a waster - he had the talent to go all the way.
"Now it's great for everyone to see he has made up to his mum and made her so proud on the show."
Gavin's partner Julie, 45, was Leon's boss at clothes shop Gap - the woman fired for taking time off to cheer him on in the show.
Gavin said: "Leon turned up for work one day, his head down, looking rough with dark rings under his eyes as if he hadn't slept. He'd left the house with a small suitcase and kipped for two nights in his car.
"Julie felt really sorry for him - she asked him round to us for tea. He arrived with a really sad look on his face. He wasn't even angry, just upset and worried - and quiet."
Later Leon came by again. "He'd managed to find a mate to stay with and was sleeping on his sofa and he was a bit brighter," Gavin said. "It was then he told me he was lined up for X Factor. He was filled with a mixture of excitement, sadness and insecurity. He saw it as his chance to prove his mum wrong."
At his audition in July, Leon told presenter Dermot O'Leary: "I live with my mum who's a single parent. She's supported me all my life but no disrespect to my mum... she just thinks that me trying to pursue a singing career is a bit far-fetched."
The Scottish lad broke down when the judges praised him after his first song, and he tearfully told Sharon Osbourne: "I just came by myself."
Leon was then shown phoning his mum to tell her he'd made it through to boot camp. A week later, Leon told his colleagues at Gap he'd got through to the next round and he'd patched things up with his mum. Gavin said: "It was a great relief to see Leon happy again." Leon never mentioned that three-week rift with his mum again.
When, at a birthday party in November, Gavin mentioned Leon's bust-up with Wendy, Leon was furious. Gavin said: "By now, X Factor was on TV and his mum truly was very supportive.
"Wendy had only got upset about the singing because she cares so much for her son. It is true what Leon says - they are very close and always have been."
And despite his new-found fame - and the fact his winning song When You Believe will be named Christmas Nol today - Leon is planning a quiet Christmas Day with his mum.
He said: "I'll probably get her a Hoover. She loves cleaning."
But he is planning a slightly bigger gift in the New Year.
He said: "My mum deserves a better life and I am thinking about buying her a big house - I want her to have her own front door and a garden. It will be big enough so she can vacuum whatever time of night she wants."
'He wanted lo prove he wasn't a waster'
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