Simon Cowell: Louis Walsh is the UK’s most popular person

While Rita Ora and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini look shocked – and a few of the Boys who have already won seats swivel them round to face away from Mason – Cowell warns: “You are five seconds away from getting thrown off this stage… They ain’t going to throw four or five thousand people out”.

He added: “I’m quite a relatively new singer, back in March, I was singing in my bedroom, so I’ve never took to live performing very well”. You know what Cheryl would say to that don’t you, Seann?

After an explosive performance, Noise invited the entire audience to film him on their phones, which is against production rules, and bizarrely demanded the audience evacuate the studio because he was upset over the amount of airtime producers gave him last week.

Finally, Mason decides to reveal why he is throwing such a strop: “Okay I’ll go for it straight”. “The first auditions – I watched on Saturday”.

Mason, however, refuses to leave and hits back: “Why is it I only got a 47 second part on the show when others got ten minute time slots?” I’m doing this for you! I’m being an artist.

But Cowell was having none of it and called him an “a***hole”. “Nick is a fantastic mentor and I really want to thank him for all his support”.

‘If you’ve got a problem please go. Don’t criticise these guys! Someone to wake me up and stir me out of a James Bay-induced semi TV coma, which is why Fourth Power and their lovely bounciness were also a highlight of Sunday’s show.

The Girls Aloud star dismissed rumours that the Mayo man will be making a sensational come back to the talent show – after it suffered a massive decline in ratings. “Why don’t you shut up?”

After refusing to apologise for his outburst, Mason dropped the mic, along with his last hopes and dreams for X Factor stardom and left the stage.

However, despite her harsh words, Katie – who now lives in Los Angeles and performs with a band named Red Velvet – believes Cheryl is doing a good job on the current series of “The X Factor”.