Wednesday, 14 July 2010

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X Factor bosses change format as Cheryl Cole off sick

Contestants will not sing in front of live audience

Cheryl Cole's diagnosis has meant Simon Cowell has had to change the boot camp format

The X Factor boot camp format is being changed in the wake of Cheryl Cole's malaria diagnosis.

The Girls Aloud star - who caught the disease while on holiday in Tanzania - will not be well enough to help whittle the contestants down later this month.

So bosses have decided that the wannabe singers won't perform in front of a live audience. 

'Due to the unusual circumstances, we are changing the format of boot camp slightly this year and we will not be inviting an audience to watch the contestants being put through their paces,' reads a statement.

New mum Dannii Minogue, 38, is also off on maternity leave, meaning Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh have lost the glamour G Factor.  

It has not yet been revealed if guest judges will join them during the boot camp stage. 

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