Scottish schools minister Maureen Watt, has spoken out against The X Factor, and claims that it is interfering with the education of many students.

Watt wrote a piece for the Sunday Times about the X Factor auditions at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which took place the day before the Standard Grade English exam.

Ms Watt said: “TV bosses decided to fast-track the youngest applicants to the front of the queue so that they could get home to study.

“But how many of them would have been willing to buckle down to revision after an afternoon spent dreaming that their Hollywood break was just around the corner?”

She went on: “The reality is that while for a tiny proportion of teens, their red carpet dream will come true; for the remainder, a fulfilling life will depend on finding a career and attempting to be all they can be.”