Sharon Osbourne has hit out this weeks at sceptics who have accused her of faking the moment when she found out about the fire at her mansion, all in a bid to boost ratings for the new X Factor series.

An insider told the Daily Mirror, “In actual fact, what happened was very different. Sharon’s personal assistant got a call from home to say there had been a fire. But she wasn’t aware how serious it was so they continued to film a few more auditions. It was only when they had a break in filming that and Sharon called home that she realised the blaze was actually pretty serious.”

“None of it was caught on camera, so they then set up some shots of her getting the call. Sharon was obviously upset about the fire – but once she realised everything was OK she thought it would make great TV so she played it up.”

But The X Factor representatives insist the scenes of Osbourne being told about the fire are genuine. A spokesperson says, “It’s a matter of record that Sharon’s house was on fire during the Dublin auditions and the show reflects that. The scene where Sharon tells Louis and Simon about the fire happened in real-time.”