Sharon Osbourne has been forced to pull out of the ‘X Factor’ auditions after suffering with a back injury.
The 64-year-old television personality was supposed to join Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, and Louis Walsh at auditions for the ITV singing competition in Edinburgh, but has had to cancel last minute after "niggling back problems" made it impossible for her to continue.
Instead, Alesha Dixon rounded out the judging panel, as a source told The Sun newspaper: "Unfortunately, Sharon is suffering from niggling back problems following surgery earlier in the year and will be unable to take part in the Edinburgh auditions. Alesha will be guest judging on the panel today."
It isn’t the first time the 38-year-old ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge will be seen on the show this year either, as she previously replaced former Pussycat Doll Nicole over the weekend when a "diary clash" meant she couldn’t attend the auditions in Manchester.
A source said at the time: "Everyone is gutted that Nicole won’t be joining them, but Alesha has a wealth of experience from her role on ‘BGT’ and her own pop career so will do a great job filling in."
Whilst an ‘X Factor’ spokesperson added: "Alesha is guest-judging for the first day of the Manchester auditions as Nicole is unable to film that day due to a previous diary commitment."
For Sharon, the back pain comes after she underwent surgery in March to repair a pinched nerve after she was left suffering unbearable pain.
She said at the time: "I have a trapped nerve in my back and it’s killing me. I had to have – what is it when you have a baby? An epidural. There was no baby, but I had an epidural and I woke up to no baby, just a bad back … That’s why I wasn’t in last week. I wait another week and if it hasn’t fixed it then I have to have surgery."
Sharon Osbourne pulls out of X Factor auditions due to back pain
