A woman auditioning for X Factor threatened to commit suicide after being told she had not got through, it was reported today.

The drama is said to have happened on the second day of auditions at the Excel centre in east London as the woman was interviewed minutes after getting the "no" vote from all four judges in front of an audience of 2,000.

Producers immediately summoned their in-house doctor as the woman, in her fifties, began sobbing and screaming. Witness Tracey Ward, 50, said: "She ran off, shouting that she was going to commit suicide. The producers ran after her. An hour and a half later they were still making sure she was ok."

The ITV1 show brought in its own medic for the first time this season, after Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle had a meltdown and had to be admitted to The Priory.

A show insider told The Sun: "Nobody expected to have to use the doctor quite so soon." The hysterical woman returned to see the doctor yesterday after the incident on Tuesday, having spent the night with her family. The source added: "The doctor was satisfied she was feeling better about the situation."

For the first time, auditionees not only have to perform in front of judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole, but also in front of an audience.

A spokesman for TalkBack Thames said: "The welfare of contestants is of paramount importance."