Exeter singers survive X Factor's cruel new boot camp format

Last night millions of people watched as Devon's Shelley Smith and Luke Friend passed through X Factor's new look boot camp.

Single mum Shelley from Exeter and 19 year old Luke from Teignmouth, wowed the judges with renditions of Respect by Aretha Franklin and Alone by Heart respectively.

Shelley was a hit with the talent show's judging panel as mentor Sharon Osbourne gave her one of her six coveted seats, thus giving her a pass to the next stage - Judge's Houses.

Luke's passage to the next stage of the process was a little more complicated. Despite breezing past both the closed and arena auditions, Luke gave his mentor Louis Walsh a tough decision to make with what 'Mrs. O' described as "not your best performance to date".

Louis bit the bullet and decided to give the Teignmouth lad a chance and after much deliberation told him "I've made my decision - take a seat".

Both Luke and Shelley will now appear on the show next weekend as they perform at the Judge's Houses for a place in the live shows, the final stage of the competition.