Simon Cowell has cut scenes of ‘X Factor’ hopefuls swimming with dolphins from this weekend’s ‘Xtra Factor’.
A preview clip of the Judges’ House round showed Mel B’s acts from the boys category in a pool with the aquatic mammals and singer Paul Akister, 25, was also seen sharing a kiss with one of the dolphins.
The aired footage – due to be screened on spin-off show ‘The Xtra Factor’ -sparked anger among viewers of the ITV show and an online petition gained almost 8,000 supporters demanding it be removed.
But once animal lover Simon found out about the trip to see the captive creatures he made the decision to axe the scenes from the final show.
Writing on his Twitter account, he revealed: "Reading your tweets. I had no idea Xtra Factor producers filmed with dolphins. This will NOT be showed on Saturday.
"I think you all know my view on cruelty to animals so thank you all for your concern. (sic)"
The Judges’ House stage will see the four mentors, Simon, Mel B, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Louis Walsh, pick their final three acts to go on to the live shows.
Simon Cowell axes dolphin scenes from Xtra Factor
