X FACTOR hopeful Alan Turner has revealed what he claims is the full story of his tortured childhood.
The 23-year-old singer from Barnsley claims both parents abandoned him by the age of four and he was abused by a male family friend.
Alan said dad Alan Snr left his mum Debbie Liles when he was just 18 months old and three years later she handed him over to the foster mum who had raised her, because she could not cope with the abuse he had suffered at the hands of a family friend.
Alan, who lives in Monk Bretton, said: "I feel that could be one of the reasons she felt she was not capable of looking after me.
"I haven't seen my dad since I was in my teens and that meeting lasted just a few minutes."
The call centre worker was branded a liar when he told judges on the ITV talent show that he was put into foster care at the age of four and was estranged from his parents.
His father, Alan Snr who now lives in Consett, Co Durham, said he had enjoyed a relationship with his son for years.
He said he last saw his son four years ago, but he regularly spoke to him by telephone until a year ago.
Alan said foster gran Irene Stanfield showered him with love.
He said: "Growing up it was always clear my foster gran was not my real gran or my real mum. Although I knew who my parents were I never knew the people they were. I just knew what they looked like."
Since his X Factor appearance Alan said his mum had been in touch with a good luck message but their relationship has been distant.
He said: "I can remember so many times waiting for the phone to ring or her to visit but it never happened. My mum means the world to me. I love her as much as I love my foster gran. I have always wanted to make her proud of me."
Alan now lives happily with his girlfriend Lizzie, and the couple have a six-week-old baby.
He said: "Even though I have started my own family I can't move on and bring closure from my real parents. I feel as though my family is not complete without my real mum and dad in my life and my son's life."
Alan was voted through to the next round of the show after impressing Simon Cowell and the rest of the X Factor judges on Saturday.
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The full article contains 484 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.