A SINGING mechanic from Hull is bidding for TV fame after wowing the judges on ITV hit show The X Factor. Ryan Mathie, who helps maintain the fleet of bin lorries for Hull City Council, sang his way through to the next round after appearing in front of the judges on Saturday.
Ryan, 18, will now perform in front of a 4,000-strong audience next week for his chance to make it through to the next round of the competition. Selecting him to appear in front of the audience, judge Louis Walsh told him: "Ryan, I think we've found something great. Get ready for the next round."
If Ryan secures the backing of the judges, he will be picked for boot camp, where contestants battle it out for their chance to make it through to the judges' houses before the live shows.
The public will then get the chance to vote for their favourite before the winner is unveiled just before Christmas.
At his first "room" audition in front of the judges, shown on ITV on Saturday, Ryan said he was from "Ull" before correcting himself and quipping: "The 'H' is silent where I'm from."
Ryan then had the talent judges gagging by saying his job meant he had to "swim around in people's bin juice".
After singing Ray LaMontagne's Jolene and playing his guitar, Ryan got four "yes" votes from Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne, Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh before going on to the Sunday show.
Louis told him: "The next round of The X Factor is in front of a 4,000 audience and what I want to know is, can you connect with the audience and can you interact with them because you've definitely got the voice?"
Nicole said: "There's a country soulfulness to your voice and it's a yes from me."
After he left the studio, Nicole told the other judges: "Bin juice is a new one for me."
Ryan's down-to-earth humour was picked up by the cameras again on last night's show, although his appearance on stage before the audience will not be screened until Sunday.
Shown sitting in the holding room along with other hopefuls, Ryan expressed his admiration for judge Nicole, a singer with the Pussycat Dolls and former girlfriend of racing driver Lewis Hamilton.
He told the cameras: "She's one stunning bird."
Since his appearance on the hit TV programme, Ryan has attracted the attention of fans through social media site Twitter.
His followers soared to more than 1,000 within hours of his TV appearance, with fans inundating him with messages of support.
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