[Red Moon]

BRUTE CAMP

X FACTOR pensioner Joy Philippou said boot camp should get its marching orders for being more like a prison camp.

The rapping 79-year-old, who won the nation's hearts with her first audition, fumed: "We endured more than 20 hours of unnecessary suffering to break our spirit."

She likened judge Simon Cowell to a stern Army boss, then pleaded: "I beg him to stop it so others don't suffer."

In a roll call of gripes, Joy claimed she was:

DENIED food or drink, which affected her performance.

FROGMARCHED into the blazing sun to wait hours for Cowell, and

WOKEN at dawn as producers played mind game with the contestants.

Next week viewers will see 200 hopefuls whittled down to 48 during a revamped boot camp attended by all four judges.

But conditions at the Heythrop Park venue in Oxfordshire were so tough that Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne REFUSED to stay there.

Joy said the worst part was waiting for Simon to turn up.

"We were ordered outside to stand in straight lines in silence. The sun was blazing and we couldn't sit down.

"After three hours he appeared on a balcony, grim-faced and arms folded, like an Army general inspecting his troops.

"We had to shout and cheer, then he came back and we were told to cheer even louder."

Doctor of philosophy Joy also said producers played tricks to push contestants to the limit.

"I was woken at 3am by a deafening bang. I was so frightened. There was a note under the door and I had to write my name on it and stick it on the door. It was all to build tension."

She went on: "We hung around for hours without food or drink. We were even barred from going to the toilet.

"At my audition I hadn't eaten and my throat was dry. I tried some rap but could barely get the words out."

Joy, from Bickley, Kent, didn't get through. She said: "We weren't sent to boot camp to be punished so why make the experience so horrible."

An X Factor spokeswoman said: "We're upset to hear Joy didn't enjoy her time. It's a long filming process which can be stressful but we work hard to ensure contestants are comfortable. We haven't received any other complaints."

Source: News of the World