Britain's Got Talent winner Axel Blake has addressed claims that his appearance on the ITV reality show was a fix.
The 33-year-old comedian was crowned the winner of this year's series after wowing the judges, including Simon Cowell, with his stand up routines.
However, Axel was hit by fix claims after it emerged that he has his very own show on Amazon Prime.
Speaking after his epic win, Axel put 'fix' rumours to bed when he insisted that he appeared on the show in a bid to 'better his opportunities' of becoming a household name.
"I understand that you can’t always win everybody over and that everyone is entitled to their opinion. But the word 'fix' is a strong one, I don’t think somebody trying to become a household name and take their career to the next step should be punished for exploring every avenue possible to be able to showcase their love and craft," he shared.
"Whilst some people will know of me, there are a lot of people out there who don’t and it's about trying to make sure I am chasing all those opportunities out there, to help me stand out amongst all the amazing comedians and entertainers in what is a very competitive industry.
"More and more people are using social media, Tik-Tok, YouTube and it’s about making sure I’m doing everything I can to be seen out there."
Axel went on: "I love comedy, it’s not my full-time job by any means, but I want to show my kids that if you love something, if you have a passion, if you never went to settle and always strive for more, then they can always achieve."
The comedian, who has a show on Amazon Prime called 'I'm Not Gonna Lie', went on to insist that he filmed and funded the comedy special himself in a bid to get his name out there.
"A lot of people don’t know the full story, I put on the show, financed it and filmed it myself, which put me into financial debt. A year later I was able to get it on Amazon in the hope I could get more exposure as a comedian.
"Only a year later it got picked up by Amazon on a deal that expired two years ago."
When asked why he decided to audition for BGT when he had already released an Amazon Prime show, Axel said that as a fan of the show for many years, he felt the time was finally right to show off his skills.
"My stand-up routine was filmed and put on Amazon. I self-funded the stand-up show, nobody paid me and there was never an agreement with Amazon at the time I was sleeping in my car and driving around the UK to hand out tickets because I didn’t have a ticket operator. I would literally ask people who wanted tickets and then I would drive to them. Like a ticket Uber service," he explained.
"There would be times I would have driven for hours and hours to go and meet somebody with tickets for my show and then they would never ever turn up. I questioned my decision, my family and loved ones were concerned at that time because it was taking a toll on me. I lived, breathed, cried for that stand-up show.
"It all came out of my own pocket – I took food of the family table so that I could pursue that stand-up gig that was completely funded and managed by me. I sorted and paid for lighting, staging, you name it, that was me.
"A year later, a friend approached me saying they could help me get it on Amazon, I didn’t receive a fee but decided to do it as it could help me get more exposure. The deal only lasted a year which is why you can’t even find it if you look now.
"Now, as an up-and-coming comedian, would you say no? After sitting in my car, sleeping, and crying in my car driving around the UK being an Uber ticket driver, and then Amazon approach you, after you and your family have sat down to discuss whether this dream is financially viable, asking when we would draw a line, would you say no to that?
"I’ve never hidden my past and I’ve always been open about previous work that I’ve done. I’m just a bloke trying to do his best, trying to strive for more. Imagine being the guy that people don’t have to Google or Wiki?! To see the likes of Romesh, Mo, Tom Davis etc all being on the circuit for years and years and grafting for their passion and now they are presenting and taking their careers even further – that’s what I hope I can show my children – that there will always be more to strive for."
