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Katie Waissel too scared to go out alone

She is possibly the most hated, or only hated, X factor contestant since the series began. Katie Waissel stirred public opinion so much that some even felt compelled to send the 24-year-old death threats and it has left her terrified to do the most normal of things, like get the tube.

Speaking for the first time about receiving death threats Katie told Grazia magazine: 'That was totally terrifying.

'I still won’t do anything on my like go on the Tube or go shopping, I mean that’s how crazy this got.

'People might not like me but I don’t think I deserve that.'

Talking about the reaction people have had to her she said: 'To be honest it’s been horrendous. I wasn’t prepared for it, I just didn’t know what to do. I’m not a celebrity, I’m just someone who wants to sing.

'From the moment I got through to the live finals I knew all hell had broken out, but I had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

'I can’t say how hard it was going out week after week with people booing. I didn’t know what to do or say. I felt that whatever I said would be wrong. So I just put barriers up, tried to convince myself to shut down.

Katie also added how she felt Cheryl was more wrapped up in her own problems at the time so she turned to  Louis Walsh for help.

She said: 'Cheryl told me not to read the papers and she was nice but she had her own problems. This show has been tough for her.

'Cheryl and I didn’t have long chats - she would just advise me not to read the papers and say she had had a hard time too. She’s very focused, which you have to be. I don’t have her mobile number so I don’t know if we will keep in touch. I admire her.

'But Louis was my absolute favourite. He gave me his mobile number and I’ll definitely keep in touch. He understood how awful it was for me to be painted in a way I could do nothing about.'

She also added that she hadn’t made many friends in the house, saying: 'With people from the house slagging me off, there was nowhere I could drop my guard. Matt Cardle thought I had sold a story about him. I couldn’t convince him otherwise. After that, he lashed out at me in the press, which really hurt.

'Aiden was his best friend and laid into me too. I was an easy target. There were two people who I liked and trusted: Mary and Rebecca. They are the loveliest people. Apart from that I was on my own and it was terrifying.'

Katie also talked about how hard she found it coming in the bottom two time and time again. She said: 'Towards the end, I’d just crawl into a blanket and cry. I wanted to bury myself in a hole. But I’d think about all those sacrifices my dad made for me and how much it would have meant to my granddad and I forced myself to try and switch my emotions off and get on with it.

'Every week I was so anxious. I was worried about fainting on Sunday nights - I’d grip Cheryl’s arm so much I probably marked her. I’d jiggle my feet to force myself to focus.'

What’s next for Katie Waissel? She admits at the moment she is unsure.

She said: 'I want to sing but there’s no record contract. Nothing. I just want to do gigs, to carry on writing and to try and turn a negative into a positive.'

It’s a shame Katie kept her silence for so long. If she had spoken out a bit more people may have seen another side of her.

By Heidi Vella

What do you think of Katie’s comments?