One Direction Sign Record Deal!

Simon Cowell has allegedly signed his The X Factor act, One Direction, after they failed to win the competition on Sunday evening.

After their exit from the final over the weekend, Cowell said of One Direction: "I am absolutely gutted for them. All I can say is this is just the beginning for these boys."

Now it has been reported that they have landed a £1.2 million recording contract and will be working on new material with producer Steve Mac, the man behind 2008 XF runners-up JLS.

As we previously reported, it had been rumoured that despite the outcome of this weekend's final, the band, consisting of Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, were already guaranteed a record deal.