Let's say you were mental enough to appear on the X Factor, only for your efforts to be rejected by the judges, would you want your moment of humiliation broadcast on national television? Or would you just keep the ceann down and pretend to the public at large that the incident never happened.

Most rational minded folk would choose Option B, but not Cheryl Cole's 21-year-old niece (if you're into details, she's Cheryl's brother's step-daughter), one Melissa Armstrong.

She let the judges know who she was by singing Cheryl's Promise This and everything. The easily amused Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger wanted to put her through, but Tulisa and Gary thought otherwise.

Now Melissa it rather irked that her rejected hasn't been broadcast for public consumption. One 'family friend' said: "Everybody is angry that Melissa's audition has been scrapped. We can't believe it. She gave a really good performance and believed she would be featured in the audition shows. But after it was announced Cheryl was making her surprise comeback, it all went quiet. I wonder why that is? If anything, Melissa is a better singer than Cheryl. It's so unfair."

So Melissa went down the only route she knew her aunty would appreciate; she sold her story to The Mirror, along with a load of photos of her with Ashley (not in that way, you sicko), photos of her her with Girls Aloud, and playing the part of bridesmaid at Cheryl's wedding...