Despite all this, both The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent will be staying on our tellies until at least 2019 after ITV announced a new three-year deal for the talent contests.
ITV has issued previous statements in defence of The X Factor, confirming that “anyone can apply whether they are professional or amateur, irrespective of their past experience and all contestants are auditioned on merit”.
ITV did not immediately respond to our request for comment on the latest ‘fix’ claim, but this story will be updated accordingly.
ITV has strongly denied the claims, with a spokesperson telling The Independent that “Kirsty storming in to audition in front of the judges was completely genuine”.