Shocking crimes of X Factor stars…knife-wielding past, fleecing legend & car thief arrested after victim saw audition
IT’S a show with no shortage of crimes against music – but some X Factor stars have fallen foul of the law for all sorts of bad behaviour.
From defrauding a sporting legend to being reported to police after getting spotted in the auditions by their victim, here we look at the wannabe popstars who found themselves in front of a judge… just not the one they were hoping for.
Rachel Hylton
Season five finalist Rachel Hylton, below, is currently on the run from police after failing to appear in court over drug charges.
Back in 2008 Rachel, then aged 26, wowed the judges with a beautiful rendition of Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good at her audition.
Under mentor Dannii Minogue she made it as far as week seven of the live episodes, before losing in a sing-off against JLS in the series eventually won by Alexandra Burke.
But after being charged with possessing cannabis resin at Crawley Police Station on October 13, the 42-year-old mum-of-five was a no-show in court and now has a warrant for her arrest.
Aidan Martin
After making it to the boot camp stage of the series in 2017, then-27-year-old hopeful Aidan Martin revealed a past blighted by cocaine addiction and an arrest for credit card fraud.
Seven years before his appearance on series 14, Aidan got nicked after stealing rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio’s card and spending £43 in a West End restaurant.
He even ended up disowned by his family and kicked out of his accommodation after falling in with the wrong crowd and using excessive amounts of cocaine and weed.
However, judges and viewers were blown away by his powerful ballads, and despite being kicked out at the judge’s houses stage, has now put his past behind him and has built a career as a singer-songwriter.
Paige Flaherty
Wannabe Paige Flaherty’s shot at fame back in 2013 backfired after a pedestrian she’d previously mowed down watched her TV audition.
The talent show flop, then 19, stole a car in Jarrow, Tyneside, before colliding with a pedestrian and giving false details.
But her victim got the last laugh when Paige auditioned for The X Factor as part of her girl band Twisted.
Since then, she’s been in and out of court for offences that include stealing her mum’s cancer-stricken friend’s bank details to buy a phone and nicking her bandmate’s Fiat 500.
Simone Reed
Reality star Simone Reed, from Teesside, made it to the third round of the live shows back in 2014 but ended up getting kicked off after producers found out about her criminal past.
Simone, then 20, was locked up for six months back in 2009 for her involvement in a brawl at a train station during which she headbutted a 51-year-old woman and “laid into” a 29-year-old man.
She also made headlines in 2014 when a video of her stripping down to her underwear in a job for a Neknominate challenge – an online drinking game – at a job centre went viral.
After a two-week stint on Big Brother in 2017, she’s since ended up in the dock again, receiving a sentence in 2019 for selling untaxed cigs and tobacco over Facebook Marketplace.
Danny Tetley
Series 15 semi-finalist Danny Tetley wowed audiences and even made it all the way to the semi-final – but has since been jailed for nine years after committing a series of shocking sex offences against teenage boys.
The singer, from Bradford, had enjoyed a relatively high profile after his success on the show and even appeared on the show Benidorm.
But a judge described the 39-year-old as a “despicable creature” after he admitted to seven charges of causing sexual exploitation of boys aged between 14 and 16.
The paedophile had spent thousands grooming the teenagers and made them perform sexual acts, only being caught after one of the boy’s parents found graphic images on his phone.
Sian Phillips
Liverpudlian Sian Phillips was just 24 when she got to the judges’ houses stage of the competition back in 2011, only to be quietly removed from the show after criminal past came to light.
Sian was invited to travel to Miami to audition at judge Kelly Rowland’s house but was forced to drop out of the show when her US visa application was refused.
Shortly before, it emerged she had served 10 days of a two-month jail sentence for being involved in a fight back in 2009.
The incident occurred after a night out in Liverpool back when Sian was 22. She has since credited the arrest with helping her to get her life back on track.
Curtis Moore
Superstar wannabe Curtis Moore from Walsall was just 16 years old when he wowed Simon Cowell at the show’s Birmingham auditions, back in 2009.
But after photos emerged on social media showing the teenager brandishing a knife, Curtis was quietly removed from the series due to the bad publicity surrounding his violent past.
He also admitted to being drawn into a life of crime after the death of his brother, but has since turned his life around with the help of his foster family.
In 2011, two years after his appearance on The X Factor, he released a debut single and donated its proceeds to a Birmingham-based charity to help disadvantaged kids.
Derry Mensah
R&B singer and wannabe superstar Derry Mensah appeared on the show back in 2011.
But the 20-year-old from Croydon confessed he had been mixed up in gangs when growing up and had even been arrested for robbing a man of his phone and watch near Clapham Junction.
After admitting the charge Derry was sentenced to 18 months but was released in 2009 after his sentence was halved for good behaviour.
The experience helped turn his life around and he continues to make music to this day.