Ceri Rees humiliation has disturbed even die-hard X Factor fans
From the moment Ceri Rees stepped out onto The X Factor stage she was no more than cannon fodder.
Lost, confused and beguiled into believing she was a woman of rare vocal talent, the 54-year-old can have had no idea that she was about to be held up as an object of public ridicule.
The result? For seven excruciating minutes on Sunday night a sixth of the programmes entire running time Mrs Rees was humiliated in front of 11million viewers.
Mocked: Ceri Rees was put on The X Factor as an object of humiliation
How the judges chuckled as it transpired that, far from being a good singer, as she claimed, this poor unfortunate was tone deaf.
The fact that her disastrous appearance was saved for the climax of the show conventionally the slot occupied by an episodes stand-out performance said it all: as far as X Factor top brass were concerned, this was TV gold.
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How they must be regretting that decision now. Far from being a success for! the sho ws reputation, Mrs Reess appearance has prompted widespread revulsion at how a vulnerable and misguided soul like her could have been so cruelly exploited.
Yesterday, as a devastated Mrs Rees left her one-bedroom council flat in Bridgend and went into hiding, a distinctly unedifying story began to emerge.
For this is the fourth time she has appeared on screen in auditions for X Factor, having been rejected by judges in 2005, 2006 and 2008. (Not that her obvious inability to sing prevented her painful performances from being broadcast on each occasion.)
This, despite Mrs Rees being, quite obviously, a gentle and defenceless sort of woman. On her first appearance six years ago, she weighed just five stone and had lost all her teeth.
On Sunday nights show, she had a gleaming set of dentures and a glossy new hairstyle, but there was no disguising her frailty exacerbated by the loss of her husband, Clive, to a sudden brain haemorrhage four years ago.
Worse still, a close friend said far from reapplying for X Factor, Mrs Rees was hounded by producers urging her to return to the show.
Amanda Roberts, 48, a vocal coach from Swansea, who once gave lessons to Ceri, told me: They pursued her. Theyve been ringing her up year after year asking her to come back. They were telling her she was great, sending her backing tapes, offering to put her up in a hotel and giving her free train tickets.
Ive spent the past three years steering her away from X Factor. Shes a beautiful, special lady and she needs good support around her. X Factor is the last place she should be.
I managed to stop her from taking part in the show last year, but only in the nick of time. They called her while I was on holiday. So when I got back and told them she was pulling out, I took a 35-minute verbally abusive pho! ne call from one of the researchers, who said I had spoilt the biggest opportunity of her life.
I said Ceri wasnt well enough to take part in the show, but this researcher just asked me: Are you a doctor?
The problem is, shes very easily taken in by people and enjoys being the centre of attention. She falls in love with all the sunshine and the glory of showbusiness, but the show only wants someone to ridicule.
Mrs Roberts, a mother of three, got to know Ceri after watching her rejection from 2008s X Factor and has since become close friends with her.
Though a singing coach by profession, Mrs Roberts said her principal intention was simply to offer her support after the humiliation Mrs Rees had suffered.
I sat in my living room watching the show and saw that look in her eyes I recognised immediately that Ceri had a lot of problems and needed caring for, she said.
I had a sister, who I loved dearly, who had special needs. This could almost have been her. People thought I was nuts, but I had to find Ceri and help her. I gave her singing lessons for a short while, but, unfortunately, Ceri does not have X Factor and never will.
I was never going to take her passion for singing away from her, but I felt it was my duty as her friend to protect her from being demoralised and humiliated on national television.
She took on board everything I said and was happy to be away from it all. We became very close I regard her as a part of my family.
Thats why it was so devastating to see it happen again. But its not her thats doing this.
Most of us would go through that sort of crushing experience once and never go back again. But Ceri cant understand that.
She was being told Simon Cowell loved her and wanted to see her on the show again. The producers were saying how much the judges missed her. They are preying on a very vulnerable lady and its not right.
Encouraged: Mrs Rees had to be coaxed on stage by the show's host Dermot O'Leary
Since her husbands death at the age of 53, Ceri has lived in a council flat with just her two cats for company.
It is understood that her elderly parents were unaware of her latest X Factor appearance until the show was broadcast at the weekend.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: I saw the programme and I felt very embarrassed for her. We all know people who think they can sing and dont mind having a go in front of family and friends, but to ridicule Ceri on TV is disgusting.
Neighbours described Ceri as a harmless animal-lover who is a well-known face around Bridgend.
One said: She loves to do karaoke in some of the local pubs give her a microphone and shes in her element. She will have a go at anything not just ballads like Whitney Houston.
Ceri is very sociable and shes always going on about X Factor, but I think people have told her she doesnt stand a chance. She should not have been allowed on it once let alone four times.
Amanda Roberts couldnt agree more. I have just come off the phone to Ceris mum shes absolutely distraught, she said. Her dad is not well at the moment and they really dont need all this.
Thats what makes me so angry. The viewers dont see this, but you have to go through three auditions before you are put in front of X Factor judges and all the time theyre telling you how marvellous you are.
All that time and effort, all those lies, just for a few cheap laughs on the television. But these are real lives they are ruining and its totally wrong.
Warm welcome: But Louis Walsh told the hapless woman she could not sing
Right up until the moment Mrs Rees stepped on stage, the wheedling of X Factor staff could be seen on screen.
Dermot OLeary, the programmes presenter, could be heard telling her: Theyre new judges out there. You go and impress them. On you go darling.
However, the attempts to poke fun at her fell flat with the public, with Gary Barlows mocking of her pronunciation of Les Miserables raising little more than a titter.
The wider reaction was scathing, with several celebrities taking to Twitter to voice their discomfort.
Lily Allen wrote online: Kerry (sic) from Bridgend, they shouldnt have aired that audition, shes clearly ill.
Lorraine Kelly said: Uncomfy to watch Ceri on X factor, shes a poor wee soul. Richard Madeley went further, stating: Theyre crossing the line here. Bad.
Their comments have been echoed by many members of the public in online forums, with a growing clamour for more to be done to protect especially sensitive contestants on reality shows.
Yesterday, talks were taking place at a high level at ITV, Talkback Thames and Syco, which co-produces X Factor.
No doubt producers were feeling under particular pressure this year, with three of the previous panel being replaced by new judges.
However, according to friends of Mrs Rees, they were pursuing her last year as well, when both of the most popular judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole were still in harness.
The requirement to maintain viewing figures of more than ten million is a relentless burden on the shows producers. Senior managers are keen to avoid a repeat of last years problems, when it emerged that another of the joke contestants Shirlena Johnson had been allowed to take part in the show, despite significant mental health issues.
Mental health charities expressed serious concerns about the state of affair! s yester day. Mark Davies, of Rethink Mental Illness, said: While we cant speculate on the state of Ceris mental health, she does appear vulnerable and it was clear she had been set up to fail.
If someone appears as helpless as Ceri, to put them in the spotlight is exploitative. We hope the public outcry over this incident will prompt X Factor bosses to be more sensitive in the way they handle contestants in future. I think most people would have regarded this episode as gratuitous and cruel.
A spokesman for Mind said: We need programme-makers to be responsible.
It is important that mental health does not become a spectator sport with participants provoked into distressed states for the entertainment of the viewing public.
Ultimately, it is a decision for programme-makers as to whether participants are shown auditioning for the show.
On the face of it, the decision of whether Mrs Rees should have been allowed to participate was certainly not taken by her bewildered family.
It is thought that her audition took place in April, but that she attended it alone.
During Sundays broadcast, she was filmed stepping off a bus on her own and backstage she was without the usual X Factor supporting cast of family and friends.
An X Factor spokeswoman hit back at the criticism, insisting Ceri was happy with how she was portrayed.
She said: The X Factor is open to everybody to apply and we regularly welcome back contestants who want to audition again.
Ceri has been taking singing lessons since she last appeared on the show and wanted to have her vocals judged by a new panel, as she hadnt been successful with the previous line-up.
Her audition was the same length as the other key stories we have featured in the series and Ceri has assured the team today that she is happy she auditioned again.
The welfare of our contestants is of paramount importance. During the audition process, we have psychologists on hand to p! rovide e xpert opinion if we have any concerns or if the contestant raises any issues and we ask contestants to declare any health issues.
The spokesman added that Ceri had always kept in touch with her original researcher.
Mrs Robertss claim that she had been asked if she was a doctor was refuted as completely untrue.
They also said Ceri had specifically asked for her family not to be told and that she wanted to attend the audition on her own.
In an interview prior to her performance, an upbeat Mrs Rees detailed how she was convinced her chances of success had increased because Simon Cowell was no longer on the judging panel.
Simons been the problem, she said. Because Simons not on the panel, I feel Ive got a better chance. Ive come back to prove I can sing.
As is now all too clear, the words of encouragement she had received from the producers were no more than a hurtful mirage.
Perhaps most distressing of all were her final words to the camera, when a tearful Mrs Rees declared: I still think the decision was wrong.
I dont know whether Im going to come back next year.
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