FORMER X Factor star Frankie Cocozza is working as a labourer after the perks of instant stardom led him to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a party lifestyle.

The Brighton singer made headlines on ITV’s 2011 series, where at 18 he revealed his singing talents and also his buttocks, which are illustrated with the tattooed names of sexual conquests.

He was eventually booted off the programme after a crew member reportedly overheard him bragging about drug-fuelled sex sessions. Cocozza was friends with Connor Saunders, who died after being punched in Rottingdean in 2012. Cocozza told a national newspaper he has since blown £200,000 on clothes, travel and alcohol but has no regrets.

He now mixes mortar for £7.50 per hour.

The 24-year-old said: “I have no regrets. I performed on live TV in front of 14 million and that’s such a great thing to tell people, I didn’t have to have a real job for a long time after the show, and me and my mates had the best time. I went back to work because I needed more dough. I always wanted to get out of where I lived and get away, so then I had the opportunity and the money and I went mental.”