TRIBUTES have been paid to a keen singer and family man who won a standing ovation when he appeared on the X Factor in 2012.

Ray Patterson brought judge Nicole Scherzinger and hundreds of people in the audience to their feet when he performed Westlife’s You Raise Me Up on the ITV show at his first audition.

Although he was chosen to compete in the judge’s houses section of the show, he was forced to pull out before he could make the trip after being diagnosed with cancer.

After battling the illness for two years, the great-grandfather died on Saturday.

Mr Patterson, who was originally born in Coundon, County Durham, but moved to Newton Aycliffe as a young man, was a well-known figure around Newton Aycliffe and Darlington, often entering singing competitions and performing in nursing homes.

His only daughter, Donna Wilson, paid tribute to her father, describing him as “everything you could want in life”.

Ms Wilson described how Mr Patterson, who worked as a production operative, had dedicated his talent for singing to making other people happy.

“He didn’t have any money to give to other people but he did everything he could for them,” she said.

Mr Patterson became an unlikely star on X Factor after being entered by his grandson, Anthony.

Miss Wilson said: “My son had said ‘I’ll get you on X-Factor Granddad’ and he had replied ‘Don’t you bloody dare’. But he did it anyway and my dad agreed to go on for Anthony.”

Mr Patterson charmed the audience with his performance of the Westlife hit and told the judges that he was a ‘recycled teenager’.

He later struck up a friendship with finalist Rylan Clark, who Ms Wilson said was very kind to her father.

The grandfather-of-four had been told that he was through to the judge’s houses in the over-25s section but after his diagnosis he quietly withdrew, with no further scenes that he had filmed being aired on the show.

His family have planned a celebration of his life, which will be held at St Clare’s Church, in St Cuthbert’s Way, in Newton Aycliffe, on Monday at 10.15am.

Ms Wilson added: “I’ve got so many happy memories of my dad so that’s what is keeping me strong.

“It wasn’t just his singing that made me proud, he made me proud with everything he did.”