A man proposed to his beloved in front of more than 12 million people.

Paul Ricketts made television history when he got down on one knee on the X Factor.

His wife-in-waiting, Samantha Hallam, had just sung the Kings of Leon hit Sex on Fire to the judges when Mr Ricketts appeared on stage and asked to “borrow a short moment of their time”.

He got down on one knee on the stage at the O2 Arena in London.

Shell-shocked Samantha immediately said yes – in front of a live audience of thousands and judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland.

It was the first ever X Factor proposal.

The duo then hugged and the judges beamed – but Take That singer Gary joked that he thought Samantha was more excited she had made it through to the next round of the competition.

Yesterday Mr Ricketts, 42, of Hastings, denied claims his romantic actions were a publicity stunt.

He said: “It wasn’t done for any other reason than I love her.

“It was done for the romance, nothing else, but if it’s perceived badly, never mind. “That’s show business.”

He joked he struggled to get down on one knee for the proposal.

Miss Hallam, 37, also of Hastings, said: “I made it to X Factor boot camp.

“The best bit was my proposal on stage by my Paul.”

Miss Hallam and Mr Ricketts, who plan to get married in Las Vegas, did not even get to watch the proposal when it first aired on Saturday evening.

Miss Hallam admitted she was out on a hen do which had been organised for months – but said they would watch it together at a later date.

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