By Sarah Bull


Breakdown: Luke Lucas, 16, will be see breaking down in tears after stumbling through his performance at the judges' houses in X Factor tonight


He was one of the favourites to win The X Factor.

But now Luke Lucas, 16, has fallen at the final hurdle after breaking down during his performance in front of Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams at the judges' houses stage of the competition.

News of the teenager's fragile emotional state is likely to come as another blow to the ITV programme, who are already under fire amid claims they 'bullied' widow Ceri Rees when she auditioned for the show.

Struggling: Luke was seen in tears during the bootcamp stage of the competition

Luke will be shown in tonight's show breaking down in tears after stumbling through his final audition before the live finals at Williams' Los Angeles mansion.

A source told The Sun: 'Luke found the pressure really difficult. He messed up one of his songs then started crying when he feared he had blown his chance.

'Gary and Robbie were really worried.'

Concern: Judge Gary Barlow and aide Robbie Williams were concerned after seeing Luke's fragile emotional state

As he waited to hear if he had made it through to the next stage of the competition, Luke, who had wowed the judges at his original audition by singing Who's Loving You by Michael Jackson, said: 'This is my life.

'Everyone back home is so proud of me and I feel like if I don’t get through I’ve let everyone down.'

However, fans of Luke can take comfort in the fact that Cher Lloyd had a similar experience during her performance at judges' houses last year but still made it through to the finals.

Emotional: Cher Lloyd was last year put through to the live finals despite a shaky performance at judges' houses

Narrowly through: Cheryl Cole put Cher through because she saw her potential

The teenager forgot the words to her song and stumbled through her audition but was still put through by judge Cheryl Cole.

Luke's breakdown is likely to concern fans, and Marjorie Wallace, a spokesperson for mental health charity Sane, told The Sun she was unhappy with the way contestants are being treated on the show.

She said: 'It's like "conditioning experiments" that took place in the Sixties on animals.

Controversy: The X Factor are already under fire for their treatment of 54-year-old widow Ceri Rees at her audition

'Producers need to take responsibility for potential consequences.'

Earlier this month, the X Factor was criticised for its handling of 54-year-old Rees, who was repeatedly invited back by producers but ridiculed for her performances.

Contestant Goldie Cheung has also quit the show, apparently due to the fact she didn't want to be made out as a 'joke act'.


source:dailymail