AYRSHIRE crooner Jai McDowell was declared Britain's "most talented" last... [Derived headline]

AYRSHIRE crooner Jai McDowell was declared Britain's "mosttalented" last night in a shock result which pitted him against theodds-on favourite Ronan Parke.

The 24-year-old care worker's victory defied allegations that thecontest was rigged in the 12-year-old's favour, and saw him walkaway with a pound(s)100,000 recording contract and a place in theRoyal Variety Performance line-up.

McDowell said the win felt "absolutely amazing, absolutelyfantastic", before performing his winning song, Josh Groban's ToWhere You Are. Last night, Groban tweeted: "Cool! Jai McDowell sangmy song ... on Britain's Got Talent finale! Wishing him all thebest!"

Simon Cowell conceded that while McDowell "wasn't one of thefavourites ... we could feel he nailed the song". Last night,revellers at the Plough Inn in Tarbolton - McDowell's home village -were in full party mode celebrating the local boy's success.

It was a dramatic end to a series derided by many viewers as theantithesis of the concept of "talent", and which arguably saw aquestion mark appear for the first-time over the franchise run byITV and Cowell's company, Syco.

Sensational allegations posted anonymously to a website onThursday by a self-proclaimed "Sony Music executive" had - accordingto Cowell himself - threatened to derail Parke's chances.

The lengthy diatribe against Cowell and Syco claimed that BGT hadbeen rigged from the start to ensure victory for Parke.

Inevitably, Cowell personally addressed the allegations when hereturned to his guest stint as a semi-final judge on the show onFriday night.

To a hushed audience, he said: "There has been an allegation madein the papers - not in the papers actually, on the internet - bysomebody, that Ronan Parke had a previous recording contract with myrecord label and that I had met him beforehand, both of which arecomplete and utter lies. The first time I met Ronan was the firsttime he appeared on this show.

"He entered the show of his own accord. He is 12 years old. Thisis a deliberate smear campaign and it is my job as somebody whoworks on this show to make sure that whoever this liar is, isexposed."

And while the allegations are undoubtedly explosive - both forSyco and ITV, only a few years ago embroiled in a damaging phonevote scandal - this is just the latest headache to engulf Cowell'sempire.

Syco - the trading name for Simco Ltd, the entertainment companyfounded by Simon Cowell in 2002 - is split into three divisions,reflecting the mogul's hands-on control of everything fromtelevision production, talent scouting and recording contracts.There is Syco Music, Syco TV and Syco Film.

Its money-spinning ventures include Britain's Got Talent and TheX Factor, which is currently being rolled out in America.

However, there were fears that the talent show format may haverun its course with viewers after this series recorded some of thelowest ratings in the franchise's history.

The first show of the new series attracted 11.6 million viewers,down from the record-breaking 12.17m for last year's openingaudition. By mid-May the ratings slumped to one of the lowest levelsin the show's four-year history, when just 8.6m viewers tuned in.

Predictably, Cowell's return to the show for the semi-finalsboosted ratings to 13.5m - a 49% audience share - up from 40%without the music mogul.

Though relatively high in comparison to most televisionprogrammes in the digital era, Syco products have earned thereputation as an ITV cash cow.

One ITV insider was quoted at the time saying: "BGT has becomeone of Britain's most bankable shows for the last four years. Seeingthe figures drop ... will set alarm bells ringing."

Part of the problem appeared to be the absence of svengaliCowell, who had abandoned his place on the judging panel to pursueSyco's US expansion with The X Factor.

But that, too, has taken a farcical turn with the axeing inAmerica of Cheryl Cole, dubbed by the tabloids "the nation'ssweetheart". Cole - after months of rumours and negotiations with USnetwork, Fox - was poised to take her place alongside Cowell on XFactor USA after a glorious two-year reign on the British version.

Unfortunately for the Geordie pop princess, the American dreamquickly turned into a nightmare. Whether it was her accent, nerves,alleged lack of chemistry with fellow judge Paula Abdul or misguidedfashion choices, Cole was unceremoniously dumped and replaced by USsinger and Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger.

A return to British X Factor has been ruled out for the star amidunconfirmed reports that she refused to answer phone calls fromCowell and ITV executives, who were laying on a deal to double whatshe had been offered to judge on the US version.

Many took this as an attempt to cleanse Cowell of the "Mr Nasty"title, after he was perceived as a key figure in the former GirlsAloud star's sacking. Sources close to Cowell have, for their part,pointed the finger at Fox executives but - more than a week on - noofficial comment has been forthcoming from Fox, Cowell or Cole.

The bottom line now for Syco is that only Louis Walsh is leftrepresenting the original judges line-up in Britain - and who knowsif this will satisfy the viewing public.

Over in the States, a new US show The Voice is already beingtipped as a rival to Cowell's X Factor alongside the behemoth thatis American Idol.

All eyes will be on The X Factor on either side of the Atlanticto see if 2011 could spell the beginning of the end for Syco'sapparently unstoppable rise.