Unwell Rowland to miss 'X Factor'
'X Factor' bosses were tonight looking for a last-minute replacement for judge Kelly Rowland after it emerged she is too ill to appear on the show.
Rowland had been due to jet back from the US to coach her acts but is said to have “a viral throat infection” which prevented her from flying.
Now show bosses are trying to get a guest judge to take her role, in the latest drama to befall the series.
A spokeswoman for Rowland said she was “devastated” to miss the show.
During last weekend's shows, Rowland was involved in a row about the behaviour of her act Misha Bryan.
There were reports Rowland had gone AWOL and fled to Los Angeles, but representatives said she was merely keeping some long-standing commitments in the US and would return on Thursday.
Fellow judge Tulisa Contostavlos had accused Misha of being “mean” to other contestants during Saturday’s show.
Panellist Louis Walsh went further by suggesting she had been a “bully”, but on Sunday’s episode he was forced to apologise to viewers.
A spokeswoman for Rowland insisted that she would return when she was able.
She said: “Kelly is devastated she won’t be here for this weekend’s show.
“She is extremely ill with a viral throat infection and her doctors aren’t permitting her to fly. Kelly will be returning to the show as soon as she has recovered.”
The acts mentored by Rowland – Misha, Sophie Habibis and Janet Devlin – have wished her well, a representative of the show has said.
“The girls have been in touch to wish her a speedy recovery and they can’t wait for her to get back,” the spokeswoman added.
One option for producers could be to bring in singer Nicole Scherzinger, who has previously acted as a guest judge, as replacement tomorrow.
Former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger – who recently split from Formula One star Lewis Hamilton – had already been due to appear on the Sunday results programme as a performer.
Rowland and Contostavlos were reported to have not spoken after their on-screen bust-up at the weekend.
When she flew out of the UK on Monday, it was said to be for “business meetings”, but her spokeswoman said she would be in “constant contact” with her performers.
“She is not missing anything and will be in constant contact with the contestants by Skype and talking to them every day, and she is being sent MP3s of the songs,” her spokeswoman said.
The latest drama comes just days after the latest act to be ousted – Sami Brookes – said her mentor, Walsh, should make way for a new judge.
The 31-year-old singer, from Rhyl in North Wales, spoke out after Walsh, the only remaining judge from the earlier series, sealed her fate with the deciding vote at the weekend.
“Louis has got loads of experience, but it’s a new X-Factor so they should have someone new,” she said.
The show – which has seen three new judges this year, and no Simon Cowell - has been battling to match the audience levels it achieved last year.
On Saturday, BBC1 rival 'Strictly Come Dancing' drew more than a million more viewers when the two shows went head-to-head briefly.
But 'The X Factor' still pulled in an average of 10.1 million for the Saturday edition.
Earlier today, one of the show’s groups, Rhythmix, announced they had changed their name to Little Mix after protests from a charity of the same name.
