X Factor 2016: Josh Brooks accused of beating ex-girlfriend 'black and blue' and breaking her nose

Last night marked the first of the live shows for this series of The X Factor, but viewers were left confused when we were already one act down.

Whilst 11 of the hopefuls performed without a hitch, one of Louis Walsh’s Groups, Brooks Way, were noticeably missing, with host Dermot O’Leary quietly brushing their absence off by commenting: “Sadly, due to unforeseen circumstances, Brooks Way will not be performing tonight.”

It soon transpired that the act had been suspended whilst show bosses investigated claims that 17-year-old Josh Brooks had been threatening his ex-girlfriend, Amelia Clark, following years of violent physical abuse.

Speaking to The Sun about their four-year relationship, Amelia has claimed that Josh turned abusive after he and his twin brother, Kyle, first appeared on The X Factor back in 2014, with the 18 year old being left with bite marks, black eyes, bruises and a broken nose during their relationship.

In fact, police were allegedly called on six occasions, with authorities reportedly begging Amelia to file for a restraining order against Josh.

Speaking to a friend, Amelia shared: “At points during our relationship I was black and blue. I was constantly lying about where my bruises had come from.

“The worst time was last year. He came to my house and because my parents had new white carpets fitted I told him not to walk on them.

“He said the way that I spoke to him wasn’t acceptable, knocked me over and kicked me in the face so hard that my nose broke. I heard it click out. Both my eyes instantly went black and blood was streaming from my nose, but as I was standing over the sink he punched me again and again in the back.

“There was no one around to help me, and I was really scared so I tried to call the police — but he threatened to smash the phone. I ran upstairs to the bedroom and locked the door until he left.”

Just last week Josh was forced to deny allegations that he had attacked Amelia at a New Year’s Eve party last year, with the singer even being arrested that night but later released without charge.

After the news brook, Josh allegedly called Amelia and furiously threatened her, with The Sun reporting him as saying: “No one can get that story, you dumn b****. Your f****** family are so dumb it’s unreal.”

He then went on to allegedly send Amelia a string of horrific messages, calling her a “dirty c***” and “w****”.

Josh also reportedly bragged about how “protected” he was by X Factor bosses, telling Amelia: “People can protect me so much at Thames (X Factor TV production company)”.

Amelia admits that it was after Josh and Kyle first appeared on The X Factor two years ago that their relationship went downhill, with the teen accusing her boyfriend of getting “really arrogant” and messaging girls behind his back.

She explained: “The first time he lashed out at me was after a girl he had been messaging called me — he tried to wrestle the phone off me and hit me in the face, causing a nosebleed.

“It really hurt, but the shock hit me harder than anything else. I never thought he was like that. After that I ended things, but he apologised two weeks later and I agreed to get back together.

“We broke up so many times, but we’d always get back together because when I would try to leave he’d threaten me, saying: ‘Watch what happens’. I could never tell my parents, because they — like my friends — despise him and I’d hidden the fact we were back together.

“Another time — because I had been to a house party without him — he punched me in the face, bit me and smashed my phone up by throwing it out of the window.

“After that I was so angry that I posted the pictures of my eye and cheek on social media — but I ended up deleting them not long after.”

The Sun have obtained images of Amelia’s bruised face and body.

Amelia continued: “The other day he sent me a text saying: ‘You’re still going to be my little b****, everyone knows that’ – that’s pretty typical of the way he spoke to me.

“I got used to being called stupid or a fat b****, or a c***. I think he just wanted to humiliate me. He also used to put me down to other people, saying I was a psycho.

“Looking back I can’t believe I let him treat me so badly for so long.”

It is not yet known whether Brooks Way will be eliminated from The X Factor for good, with an X Factor spokesman previously saying: “Due to the serious nature of the information which has come to light concerning one of Brooks Way, the group will not be performing in Saturday night’s show pending further inquiries.”

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