Jenny Ryan "cried a bit" and ate "quite a lot of ice cream" when she was initially rejected from The X Factor: Celebrity’s live finals.
The ‘Chase’ quizzer told yesterday (20.10.19) how show bosses changed their mind and decided to put her back into the competition after her Overs mentor Nicole Scherzinger had turned her down on Saturday’s (19.10.19) show, and she has now revealed Simon Cowell personally called to invite her back.
She said: "I’d had the auditions and was told I wasn’t going through. I came home, cried a little bit, ate quite a lot of ice cream.
"I shouldn’t really do because it’s not really good for the throat.
"Then, I got a phone call after what felt like the longest time.
"It was quite a wait. I got a call from Simon inviting me to come back."
When asked if Simon had said that he or the show had "made a mistake", Jenny replied: "Not quite. But I inferred it from what he said."
Following Jenny’s axing on Saturday’s show, several viewers took to social media to question why she was eliminated from the programme, and she admits the support gave her a huge boost.
Speaking on ‘This Morning’, she added: "I was not expecting that level of support from the public.
"After my first audition, the flood of comments I got on social media was overwhelming.
"I would spend half an hour looking at comments and then I would be crying too much.
"Even if I wasn’t through to the live shows, that wave of affection and admiration I got has got to be enough to lift anybody."
Jenny – who is known as ‘The Vixen’ on ‘The Chase’ – admits she "couldn’t have done anymore" with her audition , and she is looking forward to performing live.
She said: "I’ve loved every moment of ‘The X Factor’ and I’m delighted to be able to get the opportunity to perform live.
"The response from the public has been amazing – what an incredible experience. I’m so pleased it’s continuing!"
Nicole said: "Jenny was just brilliant at her audition in LA.
"That voice of hers is one of a kind, and she’s an amazing person to get to know. So it was such a tough decision to make.
"After a lot of discussion we all agreed we had to put her through. The Overs are gonna smash it this year!"