Olly Murs survived a sing-off to stay in the X Factor tonight.

James Hore

Olly Murs survived a sing-off to stay in the X Factor tonight.

There was a shocked reaction after the Witham wonder was told he was in the bottom two after the public vote and would have to beat Irish twins, John and Edward, better known as Jedward, to make it through to the final five.

Olly, 25, chose Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight and it proved to be a good selection with the four judges impressed by his heart-felt rendition, sending him through.

Speaking afterwards, a shocked Olly said: "It was horrible, but the crowd were great and they spurred me on."

Presenter and former Colchester schoolboy Dermot O'Leary said it was a "massive, massive" shock to see Olly in the bottom two.

The twins were graceful in defeat, saying they hoped Olly and Essex's Stacey Solomon would reach the final.

Jedward, who divided the nation's opinion, lost the sing-off after their renditon of No Matter What by Boyzone failed to win over the judges.