X Factor singer's phony sob story

X Factor contestant Anton Stephans has been accused of making up a tragic backstory on the show.

This story may contain spoilers ...

Having a tragic back story is almost as important as having a decent singing voice on The X Factor, but one contestant on the latest season of the reality TV show is being accused of making his up.

X Factor UK fan favourite Anton Stephans tugged at heart strings during his audition for the competition, screening on TV3, when he told of his traumatic childhood spent in foster care and how he overcame it to earn a double first at Cambridge University.

Sources have told The Sun these were tall tales and Stephans was raised in South London by his biological mother.

His father Kenneth, 67, was appalled to read his son's phoney sob story.

A source close to him said: "Anton wasn't adopted, if he was he'd have adopted parents. No one knows why he is saying things like that. It's all rubbish.

"He has been telling stories like this for years and it has finally come back to bite him."

It has also been suggested Stephans lied about his university qualifications, as Cambridge told The Sun they had no record of him graduating.

Stephans, real name Stephen Johnson, is sticking to his story with another source telling the Daily Mail he is "hurt and disappointed that his family have chosen to fabricate these stories about him.

"Anton has chosen not to discuss his adopted family publicly in order to protect their privacy."

- nzherald.co.nz