Former X Factor winner Shayne Ward has apologised for comments he made about being from Manchester.

Appearing as a guest on This Morning to talk about his new role in Coronation Street, when asked where he would be now if he had not been in the X Factor, he commented: “Being from Manchester, probably in prison.”

TV host Phillip Schofield replied: “I’m from Oldham and I take great exception to that.”

Shayne Ward
Shayne Ward performs in 2006 during the X Factor 2 Live, at the MEN Arena in Manchester (Dave Kendall/PA)

Shayne took to Twitter to apologise.

Some fans were not pleased:

Other fans stood up for him, with one fan group writing:

Shayne will be appearing in Corrie as Michelle’s distant cousin Aidan Connor, and starts filming in early June. He cleared up reports that he was set to play Sarah Harding’s love interest, saying: “That’s not true at all.”

Shayne did not reveal a lot about his character, saying “You have to wait and see” when asked if he’ll be a baddie or not.

Talking about music, he said: “I’m releasing the second single very soon… It’s a balancing act with such a heavy schedule on Coronation Street, but the fans know that I will be creating a couple of shows in the summer… I’m very excited.”

Shayne will appear on screen in Coronation Street in August.