Last updated 11:14, Saturday, 22 November 2008

Reality check number three: There is no longer any reality.

Daniel Evans

Daniel Evans, thirtysomething crooning pool-cleaner and serial family man is out of the running to be the next Leona Lewis.

How will we cope with all this emotionally charged drama?

Dannii Minogue was beside herself last weekend – mainly because the other judges have fallen out with her and in love with Cheryl Cole, so nobody else would stand beside her. Had she been forced to make a choice between sending home Daniel or Rachel Hylton, she’d have had to declare deadlock and go to the public vote, she said.

Whoa, Dannii... you know now what that did to John Sergeant. Public votes can be such inconvenient obstacles to your personal plans and foul up a minutely scheduled show’s anticipated result.

As for Mr Evans, he can at least comfort himself with the small mercies of having competed with such consistent mediocrity thus far.

The bloke who turned up at auditions overweight, badly dressed, with yellow teeth and peroxide highlights did manage a makeover, teeth-bleaching, new haircut and colour along the way. Can’t say fairer than that.

Who’ll go this weekend? The pressure mounts, tension tightens, anticipation soars... suppose Dannii’s exit is out of the question, is it?