Sir David Jason blasts X Factor: 'Frankie Cocozza will be dead by 22'

Sir David Jason has predicted that X Factor star Frankie Cocozza will be dead by the age of 22.

The Only Fools And Horses actor accused the contestants on TV talent shows of being too desperate for fame and went on to describe Cocozza, who was axed from The X Factor for allegedly bragging about using cocaine, as a "plonker" who would "burn up" amid his new-found notoriety.

"When you see the kids on Britain's Got Talent or The X Factor who just want to be famous at all costs, you just go, 'God, these people don't know what it is they're asking for'," he told The Mail On Sunday.

"I won't watch The X Factor any more. Why do I want to see someone say the same old thing - it's all they've ever dreamed about - then lose and burst into tears and go into neurosis? All they see is the glamour, the riches, the cars. The fame. They just want to be famous - it doesn't matter how.

"Then you think of that plonker who got sacked... How old is he? 18? What, does he think, 'Yeah, I'm famous?' Christ. He'll be dead by the time he's 22, because he'll burn it all up."

Cocozza has since responded to Jason's remarks on Twitter, writing: "Bang out of order trotter, I still adore sir David though."

The 71-year-old also continued to voice his disapproval of EastEnders, having previously derided the soap for being too "dreary".

"I saw one [trailer] the other night when I was with my daughter," he recalled. "It was just violence, anger and angst. Someone was saying, 'Leave it, don't go to him, he's gonna kill you'.

"We don't want to see that. I can't tell you how fast we tried to get hold of the bloody remote to switch it off. I won't let my daughter watch EastEnders. Where is the stuff that you can sit with your family and watch?"