Published Sunday, 09 December 2012
Christopher Maloney with his mentor Gary Barlow and host Dermot O'Leary (© Rex Features)
James Arthur was crowed the winner over Jahmene Douglas, following their final performances.
But Christopher, 34, had been forced to say goodbye to fans on Saturday when he became the latest singer to leave the show.
He should have returned with the other ousted contestants on Sunday, but instead a spokesperson from the X Factor confirmed the Liverpudlian would not be appearing on the last show of the year.
"Chris decided he no longer wanted to be part of The X Factor Final and has gone back to Liverpool," said a spokesperson.
It is understood the decision to withdraw followed an incident during Sunday's rehearsal. However Christopher later claimed on Twitter he was the victim of a "witch-hunt".
On Saturday, his performance of What a Feeling was met with praise by the show's judges and he said he was happy to have made it so far in the competition.
"The critique that I've had and the negative press and the lies in the press and all that...I'm the third finalist and it feels fantastic," Christopher said.
The former call centre worker was a wildcard entry to the competition after mentor Gary Barlow failed to name him as one of his final three.
Despite the judge's crowning Christopher a 'karaoke king', he won support from the public - who voted him in as wildcard and kept him in the X Factor until the penultimate show.
After the final result, it was also revealed that Christopher had topped the public vote consistently from week one of the show, right through to week seven.
James only topped the vote for the first time in week eight, with Christopher coming second.
But on Sunday night, Christopher took to Twitter to claim he was only absent because of a sore throat - then bizarrely appear to hit out at the X Factor in one tweet and thank the show for "making my dreams come true" in another.
He also hit out at fellow contestant Carolynne Poole, tweeting: "You'll do anything to get a headline!" He also appeared to throw her exit in the first week of the live shows in her face.
Carolynne also took to Twitter, saying only: "X Factor can also create monsters it would seem!"