£250,000?! James Arthur turned down CBB – and has a No.1 instead

After being dropped from Simon Cowell's record label, X Factor winner, James Arthur, found himself facing into a fairly bleak future.

Without a penny to his name, the singer looked like he was going to be confined to the X Factor 'has-been' category alongside the likes of Steve Brookstein and Leon Jackson.

And it was then that reality show execs began inundating him with offers to appear on some of Britain's biggest reality television shows – invitations which James ultimately declined.

Recalling this period of life, the singer, whose comeback track hit the top of the charts in recent weeks, insists it was the right decision at the time, and even says he wouldn't have gotten a number one had he become a Celebrity Big Brother housemate.

"I got offered loads of reality shows including I’m A Celebrity and Celebrity Big Brother," he revealed during an interview with the Daily Star Sunday.

"They were life-changing amounts of money. The most I got offered was £250,000 for CBB, which I really needed at the time, not knowing if I had a career."

While paying tribute to the shows which helped revive some stars' flagging careers, James insists it wasn't for him.

"I’m a huge fan of those shows but I don’t think there’s any chance I would be back at No. 1 now if I’d gone down that route."

He might have a point, in fairness.