Let Us Factor Reality

Round, disbelieving eyes. A quivering bottom lip. A small tilt of her head to the side and a desperate glance out to the not-yet-sympathetic audience. All played out to the ominous soundtrack of 'Jaws' and a chorus of four curt 'No's from Gary, Kelly, Tulisa and Louis, the four X Factor judges.

Ceri Rees sings a tuneless rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream'

This wasn't the reaction 54-year-old Ceri Rees expected from her fourth audition in six years. Tottering out onto the stage clutching her woven handbag and a bunch of flowers for her 'favourite judge, Louis', alarm bells for the audience at home had already begun to ring. What followed was a cringeworthy, eye-grimacing, cushion-in-front-of-the-face rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from 'Lez Mizerabells', and an unnecessary second attempt with Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You'.

'Ahhh, those long intro's in the Lez Mizerabells songs are always a problem', Gary Barlow quipped sarcastically, lending her the second chance to sing and achieving an awkward giggle from the audience. She stares blankly back at him, not realising him mocking her pronounciation of the world-famous musical. It has now become clear to the majority that not all is right in this Ceri Rees audition.

The politically-incorrect in me whispers, 'Sandwich short a picnic, penny short a pound, lights not on upstairs...'. My politically-correct inner voice questions how anyone left a woman in such a clear vulnerable state up on stage to sing in front of millions? 'Does she not have a friend or family member that could tell her that she clearly can't sing?', I asked in outrage. Her naivety and vulnerability was now clear to all.

Her feature on the show was over seven minutes long, it had the generic chat outside with Dermot and was saved for the climax of the programme, a convention typically stored for the 'best of the best' on the X Factor show. It then transpired her family or friends did not realise she had gone to the auditions until they saw her humiliated on television last week. Her vocal coach and friend, Amanda Roberts, spoke to several newspapers stating she had previously spoken to the X Factor producers, pleading with them not to feature and 'exploit' Ceri Rees and to stop persuading her to re-enter the show. The producers allegedly told Ceri Rees she would have a chance this year with the recent absence of Simon Cowell. She believed them.

Later newspaper articles quoted members of the show audience stating Gary Barlow had proceeded to join Ceri on the stage and had gone through her handbag to the disgust of the audience, picking out her passport and joking, 'You won't be needing this anyway'.This was edited from the final cut.

Several celebrities shared their feelings of discomfort watching Ceri Rees' audition on the show; 'Uncomfy to watch,' Lorraine Kelly tweets, 'Clearly ill,' Lily Allen agrees. 

Ceri Rees' audition made even the most die-hard of X Factor fans uncomfortable. We all understand the name of the game; people watch, people vote, person wins, person sells music, Simon Cowell's bank account goes ka-chiing! once again, we do realise this when we sit down every weekend to watch the latest on the talent show, but should it be done at the expense of another, at the exploitation of the vulnerable?