Humiliated: The Voice children reduced to tears by joking judges
SHE had come to make her dreams come true – and follow in the footsteps of her former pop star mother.
But 16-year-old Emilie Cunliffe, daughter of Kym Marsh who found fame in the band Hear’Say, was left humiliated and in tears after being rejected by judges on the BBC’s The Voice.
On the same show, the panel, who have their backs turned while listening to contestants, repeatedly questioned the gender of another 16-year-old hopeful – then fell about laughing when they realised he was a teenage boy.
The two incidents have led campaigners to question whether it is appropriate for youngsters to be exposed to the stresses and disappointments of reality television. The age limit for The Voice is 16 but is only 14 on ITV’s X Factor.
The fourth season of The Voice began on BBC1 on Saturday and attracted 8million viewers – the biggest audience for the opening episode of any of its series so far. According to the show’s format, the panel, which this year consists of new addition Rita Ora, Sir Tom Jones, US pop star will.i.am and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, listen to auditions with their chairs facing away from contestants.
Judges pick singers to join their teams and progress to the next round of the competition by pressing a button to turn their chairs round to face a contestant during an audition. If a singer f ails to impress, the judges’ chairs turn round automatically once an audition is finished.
Of the ten contestants on Saturday, three were under the age of 18. Miss Cunliffe said she had been determined to get onto The Voice and saw it as a way of following in her mother’s f ootsteps. Miss Marsh, 38, found fame on another talent show in 2001, the ITV series Popstars which formed band Hear’Say, before turning her hand to acting in Coronation Street.
However, her daughter didn’t mirror her success. Miss Cunliffe was left in tears in her mother’s arms after she was sent out of the competition. She later tweeted: ‘I will never give up, I’m determined to make my dream come true.’
The judges also received criticism on Twitter for their behaviour during 16-year-old Stephen McLaughlin’s audition, when they were seen giggling and arguing whether he was a boy or a girl. None of them offered him a place on their team. Last night Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, said: ‘I would support it if they decided they weren’t going to take people under 18. They have a duty of care.
‘It would be useful to get some input from psychologists to find out what age they think is appropriate.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC takes the duty of care of all contestants very seriously. Viewers of The Voice can see it’s a caring environment and we ensure younger contestants who audition for the show are fully aware of the format and have family or guardians with them at all stages.’