South Africa's pop idol show ends in accusations of racism

South Africa's version of the talent competition Pop Idol came to an ignominious end last night, accused of racism, vote rigging and bet fixing.

Heinz Winckler, a 23-year-old white man, was named the winner when the voting results of Idols were announced, beating Brandon October, a young designer and gospel singer who is widely considered the more talented. But Brandon October is black.

Opinion is divided about whether the vote was skewed by the angelic Winckler's support from teenage girls in the overwhelmingly white audience, or mass voting by betting syndicates.

The programme, shown on the pay-TV station M-Net, 80% of whose viewers are white, has always been controversial.

Other imported shows, such as Big Brother and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? have been accused of racism too, because of the dominance of whites in the programmes, in part a reflection of the audience.

But the complaints about Idols are more direct. The first complaint of racism was directed at a black judge, the popular DJ Penny Lebyane, who was accused of harassing white contestants.

But in the past fortnight, attention has turned to the audience, because two of the most talented contestants - both black women - have been voted off the show.

Ayanda Nhlangothi, 19, was hailed by judges as the show's best singer, but rejected. The same fate befell Bianca le Grange, another contestant whose talent had the judges raving, a week later.

Meanwhile a 26-year-old blonde, Melanie Lowe, who showed little originality, became the third finalist.

That left Brandon October, 25, who was widely favoured until bookies began saying the betting patterns suggested syndicates were at work to ensure victory for Winckler.

The newspaper Sowetan called the show a "racial fiasco". With defeat looming, October said he was "very disappointed, because the outcome of the competition will not be a true reflection of how the South African public feels".

M-Net has denied that there has been any vote rigging, and promised to make the voting records available after the winner was announced.