Cheryl Cole `near breaking point`

Mentor and friend Simon Cowell is believed to have called a crisis meeting with the singer after she refused to choose which one of her acts to send home last week, sparking more than 1,000 complaints from viewers.

But a source told the Daily Star that with American TV bosses also scrutinising the star to decide if she would be suitable for the US version of the show, the pressure is getting too much.

'Cheryl has to sparkle this weekend and regain her credibility,' the insider told the newspaper. 'The trouble is she is a nervous wreck and terrified of putting a foot wrong.

'She will be under extraordinary scrutiny. What makes it more difficult is that her American dream seems to have gone up in smoke.'

They added, 'Simon's fully aware that the mentors get close to their acts, he does too. But they are also being paid to do a job. He wants this weekend's show to be about the singing, not about the controversy.'