Tearful Tim is out of Superstar

Tim Prottey-Jones has been eliminated from Superstar, even though he had delivered what Andrew Lloyd Webber described as one of the best performances of the night.

Tim, 32, was left in tears after losing an elimination battle with 27-year-old actor David Hunter at the last gasp after Lord Lloyd-Webber broke with the show's usual format and decided not to choose which of the pair to save until the end.

First the pair performed The Long And Winding Road by The Beatles together in the sing-off, and later Birmingham charity worker Tim gave a stirring rendition of Aerosmith's Dream On, which was unanimously praised by the judges.

David did equally well when it was his time to face the judges on his own, putting in a theatrical turn as he belted out One Day Like This by alternative rock outfit Elbow.

Forced to chose between the two, Lord Lloyd-Webber said: "We had two of the best performances of the night and I am going to agree that in an ideal world I would not have wanted to see you in the bottom two because neither of your performances were the worst performances of the night, they were absolutely not."

Tim had already been in the sing-off on Tuesday night but won out over Scottish singer Dirk Johnston that time.

The new production of Lord Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's musical goes on tour in September, featuring comic Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, DJ Chris Moyles as King Herod and former Spice Girl - and Superstar judge - Melanie C as Mary Magdalene.