Irish farmers have sent X Factor host Dermot O’Leary cheese to make sure the show runs smoother.
The broadcaster famously fell out with judge Louis Walsh last year after an on-air spat about a contestant.
But Dermot said this week the pair had made up and bonded – over a block of mature Wexford cheddar.
Asked by Xtra Factor presenter Konnie Huq about the row, he said it lasted for weeks before his cheesy gesture.
Quizzed on his peace offering, he declared: “It’s always a cheddar, a Wexford mature cheddar.”
Farmers and cheese-makers at the small farmer-owned Wexford Creamery in the south east of Ireland thought they had a cow by the tail when they heard the ringing endorsement.
John O’Connor, who has worked for the creamery for many years, said they were over the moon.
“We couldn’t believe it really: we recently won cheese awards in the UK but we’re especially proud that Dermot mentioned us,” he said. “Dermot has strong Wexford connections and it’s lovely that he is equally very proud of his roots.”
The farmers who run the small creamery are sending Dermot – voted the sexiest man in Ireland and Britain’s most marriable man – a big supply of his favourite cheese so he can butter up the other judges.
“You could say we’re milking this for all it’s worth, but it honestly means the world to us that Dermot is a fan of our cheese,” he said.
