BB FANS

FEISTY Rachel Hylton is living on £91.85 a week in BENEFITS while appearing on The X Factor, the News of the World can reveal.

The big-voiced favourite gets £60.50 income support, plus £31.35 child benefit.

Show bosses checked with social security officials to be sure former cocaine addict Rachel, 26, could continue to claim.

They are careful not give her any extras and spark an investigation into illegal earnings.

newsoftheworld

Oh - maybe this will give you a laugh (or perhaps it's not quite a laughing matter) - but when I first glanced at this story, I thought it was about Rachel, Winner of Big Brother 9. Honestly, I did!

I was surprised that she was on Child Benefit - but thought 'oh, well, she never mentioned a child, but I guess she wanted to keep that part of her life private'..

Then I got to the bit about her being a former cocaine addict. Well, I knew she'd lost a lot of weight, but I'd thought that Weight Watchers was probably the nearest she'd got to rehab.

Then I figured it was a spoof - poking fun at the fact that Rachel, Winner of BB9, was a bit straight-laced - but no, the story came from the News of The World, which, while not exactly known as The Truth as We Know It, doesn't usually print spoof stories.

Was JimD on the shandy, I wondered? Maybe he'd got his links confused.

Then FINALLY, the penny dropped - it wasn't THAT Rachel, and it wasn't even THAT show.

Oh dear - and I was never even blonde.

p.s. I think it's important to note that:



All above board, then - she was previously receiving income support and child benefit, and she's entitled to claim while being on X-Factor.

Seems fair enough to me.