Gary Barlow booed at X Factor auditions

Gary Barlow was booed at X Factor auditions after asking a female contest is she was a man.

The Take That singer - who is joined on the judging panel of the TV talent show by Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Contostavlos - stunned the audience at Birmingham's LG Arena when he queried the gender of a tall blonde hopeful.

The unnamed contestant - who had given "confusing" stories about her background - said: "What? Of course I'm not."

Gary, 40, then tried to cover his gaffe, asking if she was "born a man".

One spectator told The Sun: "You could hear everyone gasp in shock.

"The woman was very pretty, but in fairness to Gary there was something a little bit suspect about her.

"She was extremely tall and thin and didn't stand like a girl.

"But it was a fairly full-on thing for Gary to come out with as she took it pretty badly.

"Gary was booed. It was quite shocking."

Despite the shock, the woman went on to win praise for her rendition of 'I Will Survive' and was put through to the next stage of the competition.

A show spokesperson played down the incident, saying: "It was a light-hearted thing. She was happy."

Meanwhile, former Destiny's Child singer Kelly is said to have struggled to get to grip with the Birmingham accent.

The US star had reportedly failed to realise the number of variants in speech throughout the country.