'X Factor' hopeful attacked at boot camp

An X Factor hopeful was forced to pull out of the show after being attacked during the boot camp stage of the competition.

Chris Harvey, 24, had been praised by the judges despite a shaky start to his original audition. Though his first performance failed to impress the panel, he was given a chance to perform another song, Boyzone's 'Words', and was then put through to boot camp.

Harvey later travelled from his home in Cardiff to London for the talent show's second stage. However, his dreams were shattered when he left the hopefuls' hotel for a cigarette at 2am on the first night and was brutally attacked by two men.

"I was jumped by these two guys. All I remember was the awful pain of someone hitting me really hard in the face and grabbing my shirt and ripping it," Chris told The People. "I swung back in self defence and turned back to the hotel. I was terrified they were going to pull out a knife.

"They didn't say anything, they just lashed out. I come from a city, but I'd never been attacked like that before."

He added: "That morning I should have been going for my boot camp audition, but I was being taken to hospital instead. I was so shaken up by it all, I felt I couldn't go on. It broke my heart but there was no way I could go on. So I had to pack my bags and catch the train home."

An X Factor spokesman said: "We were really sorry to hear about Chris's ordeal and would love to invite him down to the live final later in the year. We would also welcome him at the front of the queue at next year's auditions."