A YOUNG singer's dreams of stardom lie in the hands of X Factor judges after he fell foul of a TV talent show "scandal", his family have revealed.

Ian Lloyd, 54, and wife Anne, 50, of Calderstones Park, Whalley, are proud parents of Johnny Lloyd who is part of the controversial boy band Avenue.

The band appeared on ITV's X Factor and made it through to the "boot camp" stage before it was revealed they had been formerly managed by a former producer of the programme, Ashley Tabor. The show's rules state that all contestants must not have signed professional contracts prior to appearing on the show.

And while Tabor is a business associate of Louis Walsh, the boys' destiny now lies in the hands of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne who need to decide whether they can stay on the show.

One-time Waddington choirboy and former Clitheroe Royal Grammar School student Johnny, 25, now faces a nervous wait that could shape his celebrity future. His father said a long road and a lot of hard work had led his son to this stage of the show.

Mr Lloyd, a director of Mortimers chartered surveyors of Castle Street, Clitheroe, said: "They are worried to death about what's going to happen to them.

"He's followed a dream. He was a chorister at Waddington church and that's how he started his singing career. He then became a bishop's chorister and then went to study music and drama at theatre school in Blackpool.

"He's always sung in local shows and then he ended up in London because there were more opportunities there.

"He concentrated on dancing and has just finished a tour with Rachel Stevens who he's done two or three tours with. He's danced on Top of the Pops a few times but has always loved his singing and wanted to be in a boy band.

"I think his talent skipped a generation. My father is a big choir man so I think he gets it from his grandfather rather than me."

An X Factor spokesman confirmed: "The future of the band is in the hands of the judges."

When it became apparent that the lads stood a chance in the X Factor competition Tabor and his company, Global Talent Group, parted company with them to give them the best chance of chasing their dreams.