BRITAIN'S Got Talent's winner has hit back at fix rumours, and has slammed claims the show should ban professional acts.
Comic Axel Blake was crowned the 2022 winner, beating child ventriloquist Jamie Leahy into second and music teacher Tom Ball into third.
While his set had people laughing, particularly the four judges, some viewers felt the wrong person reigned victorious, and some even claimed the show was fixed.
But speaking in an interview after his win, Axel said: "I understand that you can’t always win everybody over and that everyone is entitled to their opinion.
"The word “fix” is a strong one, I don’t think somebody trying to become a household name and take their career to the next step should be punished for exploring every avenue possible to be able to showcase their love and craft."
He added: "Whilst some people will know of me, there are a lot of people out there who don’t and it's about trying to make sure I am chasing all those opportunities out there, to help me stand out amongst all the amazing comedians and entertainers in what is a very competitive industry."
It was also revealed that Axel has enjoyed a career as a professional comic - while the other two acts were amateurs.
Some fans thought this gave him an unfair advantage, but Axel said even if contestants have previous experience, they should still be able to audition: "If people love what they do and want to strive for the best they can do and achieve, I think that should be celebrated and not held against them.
"With social media, more and more people are becoming overnight sensations and good on them.
"With so many more opportunities like YouTube etc meaning more visibility for entertainers, it means a more competitive industry, which means having to think outside the box and utilise every opportunity to be able to showcase your talent."
It comes after property maintenance manager Axel came under fire after his show Axel Blake: I'm Not Gonna Lie was seen on Amazon Prime.
He has also presented for well known channels such as SBTV and UNILAD and many of his comedy sketches have gone viral.
However, today Axel explained the streaming giant had no involvement in its creation.
“I put that show on myself,” he told Lorraine Kelly today. “I put my money where my mouth is and I achieved that, but it didn’t…. It looks like, 'Oh my gosh, it’s Amazon Prime', but if they saw the back end, it didn’t look like that financially, a lot of stress…
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“I had to borrow from other people, to say, ‘Listen, I need to do something, I’ve already put the deposit down and stuff… Then after that, Amazon picked it up. So it wasn’t for Amazon Prime. I didn’t know they were going to pick it up.
“That was like a year later.”
Despite the split opinions, Axel was a clear winner with 19.7 per cent of the vote.
It was very close between Jamie, who finished with 14.7 per cent, and Tom who received 14 per cent.
After he was announced as the winner, Axel fell to his knees.
The audience took their feet as a shocked Axel said: "I am shaking!"
Simon told him: "I feel really emotional for you right now.
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"It’s not just how brilliant you are, it’s how much I like you and how everyone likes you.
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"I believe we have found a star."
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