X Factor hopeful who skived off work for audition KEEPS her job at Foot Locker after Simon Cowell phoned her boss to beg him not to sack her
- Kerrianne Covell, 23, told judges she was skipping work for her audition
- Simon Cowell phoned her boss and begged him not to sack her
- She said she has been allowed to keep job at Foot Locker, Middlesbrough
- Foot Locker said they fully support the singer in her X Factor journey
- Singer wowed judges with her rendition of Adele's One and Only
An X Factor hopeful who bunked off work for an audition was allowed to keep her job after Simon Cowell phoned her boss and begged him not to sack her.
Kerrianne Covell, 23, has already been fired from two jobs after missing work to sing at gigs and was warned about 'going AWOL' by her current boss at Foot Locker in Middlesbrough.
Taking matters into his own hands, the music mogul pleaded with the singer's boss after she wowed the judges during last night's show.
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Kerrianne Covell, 23, has been allowed to keep her job at Foot Locker in Cleveland Shopping Centre, Middlesbrough, after Simon Cowell phoned her boss
He left a voice mail message saying: 'Hello, it's Simon Cowell. I'm phoning to apologise actually for Kerrianne not being at work today.
'She has got through to the next round but would like her job back in the short term.
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'But if she makes it through, she'll probably never talk to you again. I hope that's ok. Call me, bye.'
Ms Covell was a big hit with the panel, after they heard her rendition of Adele's One and Only.
The X Factor judge left a message saying: 'Hello, it's Simon Cowell. I'm phoning to apologise actually for Kerrianne not being at work today'
She explained her situation, saying: 'I've been fired from two jobs before for singing and missing work to do gigs.
'Foot Locker told me I would be put down as AWOL and could lose my job.
'But I wasn't going to lose my audition. It meant the world to me.'
Speaking today, the talented singer said: 'I was allowed to keep my job, they have been so supportive.'
A spokesperson from Foot Locker said: 'We can confirm Kerrianne Covell has not been fired or lost her job at Foot Locker, Middlesbrough. Foot Locker fully support Kerrianne in her X Factor journey.'
The singer revealed today that she may never have had the chance to perform, as she almost died of severe dehydration during a holiday in Ibiza with her friends.
The singer revealed that she is still working at the Foot Locker in Cleveland Shopping Centre, Middlesbrough
She was rushed to hospital where she spent a week-and-a-half in the care of doctors.
'They told my mum, Pam, to prepare for the worst. They didn't say I could die, they worded it differently.
'I was blue-lighted to hospital and the pain was killing me but I didn't have a clue what it was.'
Doctors eventually found Ms Covell was suffering from severe dehydration following a water infection.
She said: 'I wasn't responding to antibiotics and my kidneys nearly failed. It was really serious and my mum was worried sick.'
But the agonising time turned out to be a 'blessing in disguise' for Kerrianne, who was 20 at the time.
She quit the Arts Educational School in London, where she was studying musical theatre, and decided to focus on her love of singing.
'That's why I think everything happens for a reason. If that didn't happen I would still be doing musical theatre which, in my heart, wasn't what I really wanted to do,' she said.
The talent show hopeful then won a radio competition to support Pixie Lott in concert in Newcastle, and everything has been looking up ever since.
She quit the Arts Educational School in London, where she was studying musical theatre, and decided to focus on her love of singing
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