The most shocking X Factor scandals

Sharon Osbourne drenched fellow judge Louis Walsh with water during a 2005 live show after he asked her if she was taking her husband Ozzy Osbourne’s “drugs”. He later said: “It was a terrible thing to do … I could’ve been electrocuted!” Copyright [ITV/Supplied by WENN]

In 2010, X Factor wannabe Abbey Johnstone punched her then-best friend Lisa Parker after Simon Cowell branded their audition “the worst in history”. They were booed off stage and had to be separated by security. Copyright [ITV]

X Factor wannabe Carolynne Poole claimed Chris called her a “****”, and sources said he turned up to rehearse the group song for the 2012 final “clearly drunk”. He denied her accusations but was axed from the final. Copyright [Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock]

Gamu was surprisingly sent home by Cheryl at Judges’ Houses, despite being favourite to win and Cher Lloyd having a near meltdown. To make matters worse, she couldn’t return as a wild card because she and her family were nearly deported from the UK. [Ken McKay/TalkbackThames/REX/Shutterstock]

Frankie’s wild partying went a bit too far and he was kicked off the show after it emerged he had been taking cocaine. He was confronted by show bosses at The X Factor house and confirmed he had been taking the drug. [Ken McKay/TalkbackThames/REX/Shutterstock]

The Pink impersonator was rejected by all four judges after her rendition of her lookalike’s hit So What. But afterwards she blasted producers, claiming they told her to sing the Pink song and portrayed her as a “girl with a bad attitude”. Copyright [ITV]

The call centre worker was booted off the programme in 2015 after getting wasted at Judges’ Houses and jumping in the pool, leading Simon Cowell to brand him a “horror of a human being”. He later claimed producers had told him to get drunk to “liven things up”. Copyright [ITV/Supplied by WENN]

The series four X Factor final was marred over a voting controversy which saw more than 1,000 people complain to Ofcom that they weren’t able to register their votes for Rhydian Roberts. ITV insisted Leon won “fair and square” with a 10 per cent margin. Copyright [Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock]

Stereo Kicks band member Jake Sims was left “mortified” after a nude selfie he had tweeted in 2012 resurfaced online while he was taking part in the talent show as a member of the eight-piece boy band. Copyright [ITV/Supplied by WENN]

Scary audtionee Rachel didn’t like what she heard when she was given a dressing down by the judges, resulting in Sharon Osbourne mocking her for recording a “cassette”, saying: “It’s called a CD." Rachel told the panellist to "kiss my a**” and was escorted out by security. Copyright [ITV/Supplied by WENN]

Natalia Kills her own career

One of the most controversial X Factor moments ever came on The X Factor New Zealand when judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were sacked after humiliating contestant Joe Irvine on a live show. Natalia branded him “a laughingstock”, “cheesy” and “disgusting”, and Willy said he thought Joe was going to “kill everyone in the audience”. Copyright [Angela Pham/BFAnyc.com/REX/Shutterstock]