Marcus Collins has spoken in praise of his former X Factor mentor Gary Barlow - stating that it is "really cool" working with him again.

Collins was placed under the tutelage of the Take That maestro whilst on the 2011 series of the X Factor.

Whilst Collins didn't win the competition, he has been quick in releasing his debut solo album - and he told the Mirror of his pleasure of having Barlow work on the self-titled album. He said:

"Gary's the exec producer on the album. He's been really involved and written a track for the album. It's really cool working with him again. He stayed true to his word - he's a genuine guy."

The talented singer added that Barlow was "100 per cent" behind his first single choice - a cover of the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army', which had some rock fans up in arms. Speaking about the track, he said:

"He was behind it 100 per cent. He was like 'Cool, got some ideas, let me know how you get on with it'. I wanted to come out with a bang that people wouldn't expect. If people love it or hated it you'd have an opinion on it."