Martin Bashir: I thought call from Celebrity X Factor producers was a scam

Veteran journalist Martin Bashir admitted that he initially thought he was “being set up” when he received a phone call from The X Factor: Celebrity team.

Bashir, 56, is best known for high-profile broadcast interviews with Diana, Princess of Wales and Michael Jackson, and is currently the BBC’s religious affairs editor.

Speaking to Standard Online and other reporters at the launch of The X Factor: Celebrity, he revealed he needed convincing that the offer of a place on the show wasn't a prank.

“After I realised that the person contacting me wasn’t a scam and I wasn’t being set up, I reflected on it and it happened fairly quickly,” Bashir said.

“I didn’t feel it was an opportunity I could walk away from.”

As the oldest contestant on the series, Bashir said that “being amongst so many young people” had made him “open up” and take on a more positive attitude.

“As we get older, we don’t become more open, we become more closed,” he added. “We have fewer friendships, relationships, we try fewer things.

“This has been such a fantastic thing for me as it’s forced me at almost the age of 57 to open up and try something I’ve never, ever done before.

He continued: “[The younger contestants] are confident and infectious, partly because they have the innocence of youth. For grizzled old people like me, I’m cynical, [I’m thinking] ‘everyone’s going to slaughter me, it’s a disaster.’

“We’ve got all this negativity but then you think, ‘What have I got to lose?’

“The single truth is, after help from [the X Factor team], everyone can sing.”

The journalist hailed one fellow contestant, Coronation Street star Victoria Ekanoye, for her “unbelievable” voice and identified her as an early favourite, asking: “How has she not got a record contract?”

The X Factor: Celebrity begins on ITV on Saturday, October 12 at 8.35pm.