Olly Murs admits he had to drink himself to a point where he had "that 'Olly Murs' personality again" after finding it hard to cope with public criticism.

It was announced in May 2011 that the former X Factor finalist would co-present spin-off show The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack.

Murs admits he struggled to cope with receiving criticism after landing the lucrative hosting spot.

He told The New Review: "I've never walked into a room and been arrogant or confident or horrible to anyone. And being seen like that - a nice bloke - was important to me. But now I was doing TV, and I was getting criticism every day - blogs, tweets and the media. Suddenly it seemed like nobody liked me. I didn't like that feeling. Didn't handle it well at all."

He continued: "I was doing a lot of TV, not just The Xtra Factor but popping up on things like 8 Out Of 10 Cats. I just felt I had to drink myself to a point where I had that 'Olly Murs' personality again. Without it I didn't feel good enough, funny enough."