More X Factor drama as judge Rita Ora pulls out of filming

Jul 8, 2015

The X Factor was set to return bigger and better this year with new judges, new hosts and even rumours of a new format, but there have already been problems one week in.

The series got off to a bad start at the weekend when the Manchester live auditions were cancelled due to the death of Simon Cowell's mother. But with the auditions rescheduled for today and tomorrow (July 6th and 7th), new judge Rita Ora has already had to pull out, as well as Olly Murs' co-host Caroline Flack.

Rita had apparently cleared her diary for the original audition dates last weekend, and with the changes she will no longer be able to appear on the show tomorrow.

While the Shine Ya Light singer will be there to film today, she then flies out to France for commitments at Paris Fashion Week with Karl Lagerfeld, according to The Mirror.

She had hoped to make it back for a 1pm start in Manchester on Thursday but now has decided to pull out of tomorrow's filming altogether. A spokesperson for ITV confirmed the news, saying the producers were making other arrangements for tomorrow. "Rita obviously wanted to be there but it is just unfortunate that with the change in filming dates there is an issue," the rep said.

I love Paris in the springtime and summertime it's so beautiful! #parisfashionweek

— Rita Ora (@RitaOra) July 6, 2015

"We will go ahead either with Simon, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nick Grimshaw, or drafting in a guest judge."

Rita was confirmed as a new judge on the show last month, along with BBC Radio 1 host Nick. The pair will join Cheryl and Simon on the panel for this series.

As for hosting duties, Olly Murs will be left to run the show by himself as Caroline flies to Mallorca to work on another project. "Caroline has to jet off to Majorca to film Love Island, so Olly… is going to have to host on his own," a source revealed.

Simon Cowell took to Twitter this morning to thank his fans for their support after the death of his beloved mum Julie:

My family lost someone very special on Sunday. My Mum. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the kind messages received. Thank you. X

— Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) July 7, 2015