Dermot O'Leary

Now outraged viewers are making their anger official.

Yes, the X Factor furore over booted contestant Laura White just won't go away.

And now her fans have taken their misgivings to broadcast watchdog Ofcom.

Laura, previously a fave to win The X Factor, was voted off the competition last weekend, by a decision of three judges (Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh) to one (Cheryl Cole).

All week we've watched controversy over her elimination grow - the Sugababes and Adele have both expressed their shock over her early exit.

But it's Laura's non-celeb fans who seem truly hacked off....

More than 40,000 authors of a Bring Laura Back petition have now lodged a formal complaint with Ofcom over the decision to axe the singer.

They cite a lack of transparency in X Factor voting, and are urging the waLaura White tchdog to investigate, following reports that some viewers could not get through to vote for the aspiring star.

"There is a body of evidence to suggest that there are major issues concerning telephone voting on the above programme," the complaint states.

"Many thousands of viewers are convinced that either their call was blocked or their vote misappropriated."

We're sure Laura is chuffed by the outpouring of support, but surely this is taking it all a little bit far?

It is a competition after all - someone has to go each week.

The X Factor peeps have now released a statement of their own denying any wrong-doing.

"There were absolutely no issues with the phone lines or the voting system which is subject to rigorous procedures and protocols," they said.

"Our viewers vote for the act they want to keep in the competition and last Saturday, Laura White and Ruth Lorenzo received the least number of votes. There are no plans to bring Laura back to The X Factor."