Joe McElderry hits back at weight jibes with shirtless selfie

The singer was accused of “piling on the pounds” after recent TV appearance.

Joe McElderry has hit back at weight jibes after being targeted by online trolls following an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine.

The former X Factor winner, who beat Olly Murs in the ITV talent show back in 2009, went on to win Popstar to Operastar and The Jump before embarking on a career in music theatre.

One newspaper said Joe had transformed from “a baby-faced teen” to a “fuller-figure mature look” since he won The X Factor six years ago.

Joe wore his hair in a fashionable mini quiff and completed his look with a pair of boots.

The 24-year-old appeared on Lorraine yesterday with Blue singer Antony Costa to promote their roles in Tommy the Rock Opera, and Joe got comfy on the sofa for the occasion.

Laughing off the comments, Joe tweeted after the show: “Oh don’t you just love the worst angled photo ever that makes you look like a slug!”

Joe and Antony’s new show is based on The Who’s album Tommy and tells the tale of a deaf, mute and blind pinball player who becomes an international messiah.

Of course, it’s not surprising Joe has beefed up a bit – he was just 19 when he won The X Factor, and he’s now 24 and sporting the stubble to show it.

Fans have praised him for the post, with one writing: “This is so humorous”.

His winner’s single, a cover of Miley Cyrus’s The Climb, was the first to be beaten to the Christmas top spot for four years.