X Factor final: Joe wins, but it's Cowell who has mastered the fickle arts | Mark Lawson

Last night at 9.16pm, three contrasting facial expressions told the story of the 2009 series of The X Factor: the lighthouse-bright smile of the winner, Joe McElderry, 18, almost guaranteed a hit single with his cover version of Miley Cyrus's The Climb; and the inevitable regrets of the loser, 25-year-old Olly Murs, tempered by the thought that runners-up – such as Jade Goody and Susan Boyle – sometimes flourish more than victors.Alongside them, Simon Cowell gave no reaction, but t...

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