'X Factor' all at sea

A speedboat chase for the new opening scenes of ‘The X Factor’ took a disastrous turn earlier this week.

Filming for the opening credits featuring the show’s judges – Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue – in a ‘James Bond’ style boat chase was reportedly met with huge setbacks during filming.

Many shots had to be re-taken after Louis and Danni felt seasick, causing Simon and Cheryl to laugh hysterically, then heavy rains meant the day’s shooting had to finish early.

A source told Britain’s Daily Star newspaper: “It was meant to look like James Bond but it ended up looking more like ‘Mr Bean’.

“Thankfully the producers reckon they have got enough footage to use.”

Yesterday the judges were in London to start the ‘bootcamp’ stage of the competition where they have to whittle down hundreds of contestants chosen from the first round of regional auditions to 12 finalists.

The show’s format has also been changed so a live audience will watch the final stages of the boot camp shows, although decisions as to who will go further in the competition will be made and announced privately by the judges.