X Factor’s Ché says Anton outburst wasn’t a surprise: “He’s a very snappy guy”
Nick Grimshaw’s final act says he and Anton had their own row backstage too, although admits he was partly to blame
X Factor fans may have been surprised to see softly spoken Anton Stephans snap at judge Nick Grimshaw on stage last week, but fellow contestant Ché Chesterman said he wasn’t.
Anton bit back after Grimshaw said he felt his performance felt like an act, insisting nothing about him was fake.
“Anton’s very much like that,” Ché told RadioTimes.com. Firey, I queried? “He can be.”
“He’s a very snappy guy,” Ché added of the singer, who left the competition after last week’s sing-off, leaving mentor Simon Cowell without any acts.
“What he did on stage, I don’t think he wanted to do on TV, but I don’t think he could help himself,” Ché added.
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“I’ve had a couple of things with Anton,” he confessed. “Nothing major. I can’t remember what it was about now. We had an argument backstage but it was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“It’s going to happen when you’ve got so many contestants and you’re all under pressure and you’re all tired, and trying to get through and remember your lines. It’s all very hard,” Ché explained. “So it does happen. The argument wasn’t just Anton’s fault it was mine too. I’m to blame as well because I was a bit aggy as well. It is what it is. It was a Saturday night before we’re about to go on stage. Everyone is just anxious that night, so you can totally understand. So it was just one of those things. It was nothing and the next day we were fine.”
Anton has since made comments regarding Grimshaw’s position as a judge on the show, dismissing him as a ‘DJ with famous friends’ in an interview with Yahoo.
Ché said it’s had no impact on Grimmy this week.
“Not at all. He doesn’t bat an eyelid. He doesn’t talk about it. Anton’s a contestant on the show, I don’t think Nick’s got anything to worry about,” Ché teased.
“I’ve said already, I think Nick’s been in the business long enough to kind of ignore than and get over it. I think Anton’s come out of the show and he’s a bit p***** off about what happened and what Nick said. I think he took what Nick said in totally the wrong way. Nick said to him that it felt like an act, but I think Nick meant theatrical act, not as in you’re being fake. Anton just misinterpreted what he said, which is an easy mistake to make.”
As for being in the bottom two with Anton, Ché said it has been hard. “It feels like you’re not wanted when you’re in the bottom two,” he confessed.
But he’s ready for this weekend’s quarter final.
“I’ve got two songs – Adele’s Hello and Otis Redding’s Try A Little Tenderness - which I’m happy about, which I need after being in the bottom two on Saturday […] now it’s got to the time where it’s so cliché and cheesy but it’s make or break time.”
The X Factor continues Saturday and Sunday at 8:00pm on ITV
