Frankie Cocozza, who left X Factor during the week for breaking a "golden rule", has sat down with The Sun to discuss how his already wild lifestyle got out of control during his time on the TV show.

The golden rule that he broke was that he was doing drugs and it was discovered when he was caught by production staff on the show boasting about taking cocaine.

The now 18-year-old has admitted that he first tried drugs was when he was 16 years old but he explains that he's not an addict:

"I regret it so much. I'm really sorry. I'm not an addict — I'm an idiot"

He explains his guilt and regrets over the way he behaved:

"All I can say is I will regret this for the rest of my life. I was an idiot and it was just a stupid thing to do. It wasn't very role model-like. I feel bad about letting the fans down and I'd like to apologise to the people who voted for me. I'm really, really sorry. I also want to say sorry to my mentor Gary Barlow and all the people who work on the show. I feel so bad that Gary gave me this amazing opportunity and I basically screwed it up. I've only got myself to blame. I've learned how much of a mistake it was. It's just a shame it was the hard way".

On tonight's show (November 12), the public will get the chance to vote back in 2 Shoes, Amelia Lily, Jonjo Kerr or James Michael to take Cocozza's place as a finalist.

Check out Frankie Cocozza's first audition for X Factor and his take on Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling':