Fewer than 1000 votes separate Ray and Leona

Published Dec 13 2006, 14:23 GMT  |  By Neil Wilkes

Fewer than a thousand votes separated Ray and Leona last weekend, according to Simon Cowell.

The pair's mentor said that this weekend's final - one he described as a "punters' final" - would be "the closest competition I've ever been involved with in my life".

"I can't call it," he added. "The public have to decide. There are going to be five or six million new voters on Saturday night who haven't voted in previous shows and they're going to go for the top performance on the night."

The final airs Saturday from 7pm on ITV1.