X Factor star on viral stage invasion over pay row: ‘I wasn’t ranting at the audience’

The performer, who shot to fame on The X Factor as part of the operatic quartet G4, staged the protest in the midst of a dispute over thousands of pounds’ worth of unpaid wages – a common problem performing artists face.

He told the audience: “I performed for the producer of tonight’s production… and their director Stephen Leatherland in a 26-date production across the UK and Ireland.

“Subsequently neither myself nor the other singers have been paid. We absolutely love what we do but I think you’ll agree that this is totally unacceptable.”

Hundreds of thousands of views were accrued, and now – speaking to Express.co.uk – he recalled: “What’s been so sweet is the reaction from the industry, and that’s across the board, from the performer to the production side. It is something that’s affected everybody at some point in their career.

“You’ve got Southern Rail striking because God forbid they’ve changed something, there are tube strikes… but those people are still getting their money. They’re changing something within their contract. But performers, they fight for the opportunities and then they don’t even get the paycheque.

“It’s lesser-discussed because people don’t like to think of the arts as a paid medium. A lot of people say, ‘what’s your real job?’ – and when you say, ’no, this is what I do’, people don’t understand that.

“The countless messages have blown me away.”

On the atmosphere in the room, Ansell continued: “It was very surreal. My friend was blocking me from the producer’s view, thinking ‘I’m now going to do this’… heart racing, adrenaline there, but I wanted to say it as eloquently and politely a possible because I’m not ranting at the audience. I’m just ranting at the unfortunate state of affairs.”

G4 have recently reunited and release their new album Love Songs this Friday, which will be followed by a nationwide tour.

Of the new collection – which features a star appearance from Lesley Garrett – Ansell beamed: “We reformed two-and-a-bit years ago and thought it’d be a one-off show. So the reality of still having an audience… We ended up having a reality check of, ‘we should bring out some music that’s reminiscent of the music people fell in love with initially.”

Love Songs by G4 is out tomorrow (February 3).