X Factor Ceri Rees story could 'seriously run and run' says Mark Borkowski

It was revealed yesterday that Rees’ family is threatening legal action, insisting she had been bullied by X Factor bosses and humiliated in front of the nation.

The move came as Rees' singing tutor, Amanda Roberts, said X Factor bosses encouraged her to return to the show, despite rejecting her three times before in previous series.

Celebrities Lorraine Kelly and Lily Allen have come out in support of Rees' family, claiming the audition should never have been shown for entertainment value.

It is understood that the issue is being handled by ITV and Talkback Thames' in-house teams, with ITV head of press James MacLeod leading the response.

The Borkowski.do founder wrote on his blog: ‘It would make it without question into my list of top ten examples of stories you don’t want floated about your brand.'

Borkowski told PRWeek that he ‘feels for the PR folk left holding the story’, adding that ‘production teams involved with huge hits live in a bubble and do not look up until it’s too late’.

‘Only the ITV and Syco bigwigs can help by apologising or offering up a crumb of comfort... "We will review future practices blah blah". X Factor is a freak show and I guess will always profit from these type of headlines. It’s a difficult PR job, and not as easy as some onlookers believe.’

However, EdenCanCan founder Nick Ede said that this was 'par for the course for X Factor'.

'There's always going to be controversy, and the media are going to pick up on it. From X Factor's point of view, today's news is tomorrow's chip paper. In the end, the show is bigger than any story.' 

Taylor Herring co-founder James Herring agreed, adding that 'it will be water off a duck's back - the story is part and parcel of what they do'.

This article was first published on prweek.com