Music mogul Simon Cowell was left stunned when a contestant auditioning for his TV talent contest The X Factor threatened to kill herself after she was rejected by the panel.
The American Idol star is currently hosting try-outs for the next season of the music programme.
And during the show's stint in London on Tuesday the judges, including Girls Aloud beauty Cheryl Cole and pop star Dannii Minogue, were shocked when the woman in her 50s began sobbing after they refused to put her through to the next round of the competition.
The unnamed contestant reportedly became hysterical and threatened suicide in front of the panicked panel, with producers summoning medics to help calm the woman down.
Witness Tracey Ward tells The Sun, "She ran off, shouting that she was going to commit suicide. The producers ran after her. I saw her half an hour later, and they were still making sure that she was OK.
"As a stranger I could quite clearly and immediately see she was vulnerable - and yet she must have passed three auditions to get to this stage. You have to ask whether she should have been at the audition in the first place."
A spokesperson for the TV show adds, "The welfare of our contestants is of paramount importance."