Bernard Cribbins is certain that John and Edward will be good children’s TV presenters.

The Irish bequiffed twins are rumoured to be planning a move into children’s TV, following their exit from the X Factor, and the veteran actor – whose career in kids’ TV spans six decades – said: “I think they’d be very good, because they have sufficient idiocy about them and they have a lot of energy, which is what’s needed.”

He continued: “I think that actually would be a very good move. They’d be terrific, and they’ll calm down a little bit as they go along so they might make very good presenters indeed.”

But Bernard – who will be presented with the Special Award at the British Academy Children’s Awards on November 29 – doesn’t wish to have an encounter with the siblings.

“I just hope I don’t come across them. actually, I’d like to meet them just to cut their hair off,” he joked.

OK, he might have missed the bandwagon by a couple of days – but David Walliams has become the latest star to publicly express his love for Jedward.

The little Britain star, who has a well-documented love of dressing up, was styled as the terrible twins for a Heat magazine photoshoot.

He joins celeb fans such as, erm, Bex from Big Brother last year – who yesterday proved her love for the twins by displaying a Jedward bum tattoo.

Walliams also follows in the illustrious footsteps of Samanda – the Big Brother identical twins who were styled as Jedward for a Closer magazine shoot a couple of weeks ago.

But there’s nothing second-rate about his devotion to the twins.

He said: “I love everything about John & Edward. Except their singing. I felt a strange kind of inner peace being dressed up as them. I now dress up as them all the time and I’m hoping they will ask me to join the band.”

Speaking about the recent Calvin Harris pineapple incident, Walliams said: “Calvin should be repeatedly spanked on his bare bottom by Louis Walsh for what he did.

“I imagine Simon Cowell will want to watch to ensure the job is done correctly. I am happy to come along and help supervise too.”

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We like David’s impresonation, but we can’t help thinking some of these stars are better lookalikes for other celebs…

Celebrities including Peaches Geldof, little Boots and Philip Schofield have taken to Twitter to leave tributes for X Factor rejects John and Edward Grimes.

If these sad messaged are anything to go by, the 18-year-old twins will be sorely missed by the showbiz world.

Jedward were voted out by the judges on last night’s show, after landing in the bottom two alongside Essex boy Olly Murs.

Find out what the celebs had to say about their departure below…

Little Boots: “I know they divide everyone but I love Jedward. everyone keeps saying it’s a singing competition but I thought it was the x factor not the vocal factor?!”

Philip Schofield: “Thing is Jedward were on the wrong show, they should have been on Britain’s got Talent where we love a good novelty act.”

Rochelle, The Saturdays: “Finally make the pineapple twins leave!! What a good run they had! I do feel a little bad for them!!”

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Peaches Geldof: “Jedward are out. I am now going to take a week out for mourning. I am in shock. It may be the end, but we witnessed something truly beautiful. Jed forever. The end of an era. But their legacy lives on in the hearts of millions, always and forever united in our battle cry of JED WE CAN!”

Tom, Mcfly: “I’m going to miss watching John and Edward so much. Really hope this isn’t the end for them. Good on ‘em for getting this far.”

Perez Hilton: “R.I.P. Jedward! Hey, at least you two will now have a lucrative career performing at gay clubs across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales!”

Nick Grimshaw: “Never has a day been so dark or an evening so grim, my hearts bleeds and my punctured soul weeps….as Jedward become Deadward.”

Remi Nicole: “Jedward we’ll love you no matter what.”

Preston: “I miss Jedward. X”

Get all the latest X Factor news and video in our dedicated section.

Check out the best opinion on Mirror.co.uk’s X Factor blog.

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JEDWARD have compared themselves to the Jackson Five.

The hyper Irish duo said people aren’t calling them by their individual names anymore, just like Michael Jackson and his brothers in the Seventies.

They explained: “This is what it’s like – the Jackson Five they all liked to be called Michael, Tito or whatever but they have to be the Jackson Five.”

The 18-year-olds have previously compared themselves to Britney Spears, Madonna and Justin Timberlake.

They were spouting on about not having to be the best singers because there are many big stars who don’t have a strong voice.

Meanwhile, the pair – who often have a swarm of female fans waiting for them outside the house – boasted about their dating know-how.

Raving that they would never take a girl on an ordinary date, John said: “If we were taking one of our fans out on a date we wouldn’t do the whole typical thing like going to the cinema or going for a meal but it’d be something really special and different.

“It would be fun. it would be John and Edward style.”

Lock up your daughters…

The odds on John and Edward winning the X Factor have dropped after a company said it had found a way to register votes from the Irish Republic.

Viewers across the border have not been able to vote because the phone lines cannot be accessed outside the UK.

However, Swiftcall said it could get around the problem by using a telephone exchange in London.

Since then, bookmakers Boylesport said it had cut its odds on the twins winning the show.

The bookmakers had initially written off the Grimes teenagers and were offering odds of 125-1.

However, anyone who now wants to take a punt on the young Dubliners winning the contest will be given odds of around 8-1.

X Factor was criticised when the boys survived their sing-off against Lucie Jones after Simon Cowell let the public vote decide.

And on Saturday, Calvin Harris stormed onto the stage with a pineapple on his head during John and Edward’s performance, later apologising for the stunt.

Olly Murs from Essex remains favourite to win the show with odds of 9/4.

X Factor judge Louis Walsh thinks John and Edward have the potential to make millions out of television work and endorsements.

Louis touched down in Ireland with the twins earlier this week, sparking a mass frenzy across Dublin.

Returning home to visit family and friends, the boys were met by screaming Jedward fans around every corner.

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And even if they don’t win the X Factor, Louis reckons the twins will remain in the limelight and go on to make millions.

He told the Irish Independent that offers are flooding in: “It could be TV. There’s people talking about them doing phone deals, pantomimes, books, records, hair deals.

“I think if they were in America they would be multi, multi-millionaires. Because they’re so clean cut, they’re so nice. They’re unique. Everything about them.”

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X FACTOR stars will perform Wham! songs this weekend – and it could play straight into the hands of twins John and Edward.

The duff singers may get to perform Wham Rap! which might help to disguise their off-key voices.

Simon Cowell picked the hits of 1980s duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as the theme of the show.

The pair released a string of cheesy hits that would be perfect for Jedward to perform.

Handily for the 18-year-old Grimes twins – kept on the reality show at the expense of better performers – Wham Rap! features rapping, which the twins’ prefer to singing.

The hit got to number eight in the charts in 1983 with a video of George and Andrew dancing in leather jackets.

Cowell’s decision to pick their songs came after The Sun revealed how bosses allegedly told sound men to “drown out” Jedward’s voices.

Sources said yesterday that as the theme had been decided late Louis Walsh was undecided on what the Grime Twins will perform.

Other Wham! hits include disco favourites like Club Tropicana and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.

Contestants will also be able to pick from George Michael solo hits like Praying For Time and I Can’t Make You Love Me.

Simon delayed choosing the theme and was also considering Elton John. Mariah Carey and Susan Boyle will sing on Sunday’s results show with George Michael tipped for a surprise appearance on Saturday.

A source said: “The theme has only just been decided which means less rehearsal time. Handily for the twins it wasn’t Elton John week or they may have struggled.”

The twins caused mass hysteria as they went back to school in Dublin yesterday. Hundreds watched the pair, who were surrounded by security, as they were filmed at lessons and on the running track for the ITV1 show.

l.connolly@the-sun.co.uk

X Factor tykes John and Edward Grimes are more popular than the Beatles, according to a new online poll.

The tone-deaf twins romped to victory with 45% of the 1,300 votes cast in a survey to find the greatest boy band of all time.

The Beatles came in second with 33% of the vote, followed by Take That with 14%.

Westlife were fourth (5%) and, sealing the poll’s credibility, last year’s X Factor runners-up JLS rounded out the top 5 with 3%.

A droopy-haired Jedward are escorted from the X Factor house yesterday (Splash News)

A spokesperson for Paddy Power, who hosted the poll on their website, said: “We’re genuinely gob-smacked with this result and would have presumed that the Fab Four would have easily topped this poll but once again Jedward have exceeded expectations and caused yet another upset”

Despite being voted the greatest boy group ever, ‘Jedward’ are still 8/1 outsiders to win this series of the X Factor, according to Paddy Power’s current odds.

Celebrity doppelgangers

X Factor twins John and Edward are at the centre of “fix” claims following reports that soundmen have been ordered to mask their weak vocals.

The Irish 18-year-olds – whose lack of singing talent has sparked criticism of the ITV show – received some of their highest praise from judges following their rendition of Queen’s Under Pressure on Saturday night.

But according to The Sun, technicians were ordered to lower the levels on their microphones so their voices were drowned out by a pre-recorded backing track, although show chiefs responded to the allegations by saying all the contestants had “technical support”.

The newspaper quoted a programme source who claimed: “Every week session singers record backing tracks to some songs. But soundmen are told to turn down the levels of the twins’ mics so their vocals are mostly covered by the backing singers. Often mics are so low the twins’ singing would be barely audible.”

However, a spokeswoman for production company talkbackThames said all X Factor hopefuls receive an “equal amount” of technical help for their live performances.

She said: “All contestants sing live on Saturday night and all are given an equal amount of technical support to ensure they give the best live performance they can.

“Technical support is standard for all artists when giving live vocal performances.”

At the weekend chart act Calvin Harris crashed the stage with a pineapple on his head during John and Edward’s performance, later claiming he did it to “make a mockery” of the competition and its “terrible” music.

Show chiefs of ‘The X-Factor’ have been accused of manipulating the sound levels to keep the only group, Irish twins John and Edward Grimes, on the programme.

One outraged technician said employees had been threatened with the sack if they exposed their weak voices.

A source said: “We were told to lower the twins’ microphones and raise the levels on the backing track so the pre-recorded session singers covered the sound of their appalling vocals.

“The only time we were told we could raise the levels on their microphones was when they were rapping.

“One of the crew refused as he said it was unfair, but he was told he would no longer have a job if he didn’t follow instructions.”

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that Simon Cowell ‘sacrificed’ Jamie Archer to save his other ‘X Factor’ acts.

The 34-year-old rocker departed the competition this weekend and his mentor has been accused of deliberately manipulating the contest to show him in a less favourable light than his other singers, Danyl Johnson and Olly Murs.

A friend of Jamie’s told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: “The whole show is being made a mockery of. Simon was the only judge with all three acts left – he knew he had to lose someone this week so he offered up Jamie.

“It doesn’t take a genius to see how he did it. He stuck him first on the bill, which is the worst slot. He made sure he dressed him in dark clothing so it all looked very drab and he gave him a very average song in ‘Radio Ga Ga’.

“There was no production, no backing singers, no choirs, no pyrotechnics like the other contestants had.”