Brendan, 43, is known for his role on Strictly Come Dancing but last night, viewers saw another side of the professional dancer as he took to the stage of X Factor Celebrity. One of the other performers of the night blew the judges away with their vocals on the ITV singing contest. However, Brendan’s comment about twins Max and Harvey, 16, led the former BBC dance show star to issue an apology.
The moment came as the social media stars introduced themselves to judges Simon Cowell, 60, Nicole Scherzinger, 41, Louis Walsh, 67, and the rest of the crowd.
Music mogul Simon asked the pair how many followers they had on social media which they revealed to be a combined total of eight million.
As the boys continued the introduction, the camera switched to Brendan speaking with his singing partner Jeremy Edwards, 48, about the twins’ reveal about their following.
“They say they’ve got eight million across social media but the reality is they’ve only got a chunk on each, and it’s all the same,” the professional dancer said, but he has since apologised.
READ MORE: X Factor Celebrity: Jeremy Edwards hits back at judge after audition
Commenting on the moment, the official X Factor Twitter account posted the clip with the caption: “ho needs tanning lotion when @BrendanCole is bringing this shade! #XFactorCelebrity #XFactor.”
Fans also reacted to Brendan’s remark, with one viewer writing on the social media platform: “@TheXFactor and @BrendanCole Jealous already Brendon !?!”
Another opined in backlash to the moment: “Who is @BrendanCole?? I’m here for @maxandharvey,” whilst a third chimed: “I think Brendan was born bitter. Let’s hear him sing now.”
The former Strictly Come Dancing star has since taken to the micro-blogging site to apologise to the boys.
Following the first set of performances last night, Brendan and Jeremy look like the act least likely to make it through to the live shows.
According to latest odds from Ladbrokes, the pair are at 50/1 to win the show after they performed a rendition of Love At First Sight by Kylie Minogue.
On the other end of the spectrum, Max and Harvey are storming ahead to win the show with their chances of victory at 3/1.
However, they may have to fight off some stiff competition from reality television star Meghan McKenna, 27, who matches their odds.
Ladbrokes spokesperson Alex Apati said: “Max and Harvey clearly impressed the judges, punters and viewers alike last night and it looks as though Megan has a battle on her hands for the Celebrity X Factor crown.”
Meghan has yet to perform as only half of the 15 acts performed for the judges during last night’s first show.
Next weekend will see the rest of the line-up take to the stage before they learn their fates as the judges reveal who will be going through to the live shows.
Whoever goes on to become the first X Factor Celebrity victor will land themselves a record deal.
X Factor Celebrity continues Saturday at 8.30pm on ITV.