Funeral singers 'depress' X Factor judges

A pair of funeral singers and a topless dancer are among the latest batch of contestants to face the X Factor judges tonight.

The daunting panel of Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Dannii Minogue and the reinstated Louis Walsh travel to Belfast, Manchester and Birmingham for the fourth show in the latest series.

In Belfast, funeral singers Michelle and Julie Croghan are hoping to become the first twins to make the final.

The 44-year-olds tell the panel: “The undertakers have been pushing us to come and audition.”

But their audition begins to go wrong when Australian judge Minogue mistakes the women for men.

Following their performance, things go from bad to worse as Cowell tells them: “I’ve got to be honest girls, I’d want to throw myself in the coffin after that… you are like a couple of corpses.”

Osbourne then chips in, saying she would like to book the pair for her own funeral, and Cowell offers to pay for it.

Osbourne, who was reportedly keen to leave the ITV1 show, tells them: “When you sing, you have that mortuary look on your face, you sing nicely together but it’s so depressing.”

In Birmingham, a rendition of James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful by 45-year-old Alison Clowes is slammed by the panel. The judges tell the IT worker she should ask for a refund from her singing teacher of three years, who is also in the audition room.

Later, the father of contestant Kelly Northall, from Walsall, flees the room whilst attacking Cowell with a string of expletives after the controversial judge likens his daughter’s singing to “a dog barking”.

Cowell denies Northall’s plea to give her another chance, telling him: “She is absolutely terrible and you are partly to blame for your daughter’s disillusionment. You’ve obviously been encouraging her and that’s just crazy.”

A security guard is eventually called to escort the family out of the room.

Natasha Benjamin also brings her daughter, seven-year-old Jasmine, to the Birmingham auditions.

A single mother, she says she has escaped a violent relationship and wants to give her daughter a better life.

Jasmine sits with the judges as she performs Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, 70-year-old Maria Iaconiello, who has been writing songs for the last seven years, leaves the judges in fits of laughter with a performance of one of her own numbers, Wild And Sexy.

Other contestants on tonight’s show include a topless dancer, whose body impresses Cowell; Sam Donaghey, from Newcastle, who finds favour with Minogue; and 15-year-old Dominic, who is also a big hit.

“For someone like you to come in, you look so hip, you’ve got great taste in music and you are your own person, it really, really refreshing,” says Osbourne.

Simon Cowell says he wanted to be a racing driver.

TV’s Mr Nasty announces on the Xtra Factor that it had been his ambition.

“You know, I wanted to be a racing driver. I couldn’t. Because I wasn’t any good,” he says.

The X Factor airs on ITV1 at 7.25pm.