X-Factor dream ends as Jedward voted off

The 'Jedward' twins were on Sunday voted off the X-Factor, prompting a sigh of relief from bookmakers across the country.

John and Edward Grimes, identical twins from Dublin, were forced into yet another singoff on Sunday, this time pitting them against 25-year-old Olly Murs, after a weekend vote by the programme's 16.6 million viewers left the acts in the bottom two places.

Judge Dannii Minogue had the decisive vote after Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole both opted to keep Murs.

Mentor Louis Walsh was the only one to back the pair, who have provoked both love and loathing in equal measure since the latest series of ITV's hugely popular talent show began last month.

'Jedward,' who have won public support less for their singing skills than for their on-stage antics and energetic routines, performed a rather subdued and tuneless version of Boyzone's 'No Matter What.'

Murs was saved by his more accomplished performance of Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight.'

Before announcing her vote, Minogue pointedly asked: "Is it a singing competition that we are voting on here? I need to know the answer to make a decision."

Cowell, who has been fiercely critical of the spectacularly-quiffed 18-year-olds since the outset, even threatening to leave the country if they won the contest, has recently mellowed towards them.

On Sunday, he admitted he would be sorry to see them leave the show. "I'm actually going to miss you, I am," he told them.

The pair were gracious in defeat, with one saying: "It's been the greatest experience of my life. We're here every single weekend on live television having the greatest time of our life."

His brother added: "It's, like, deadly. It's, like, so cool."

The vote prompted much relief among bookmakers, who had been set to lose an estimated 10 million pounds in payouts if the pair pulled off a shock win.

"Phew, that was a relief, we were getting very worried and have been sweating on the results each week, but with them gone we can now enjoy the rest of the competition without the huge liability to worry about," said Coral spokesman Gary Burton.

Joe McElderry is the new 5/4 favourite to win ahead of Stacey Solomon at 9/4, Ladbrokes said.