Simon Cowell took a light-hearted dig at Victoria Beckham when he said one of the rejected X Factor contestants sounded like her.

Wannabe pop star Queen A horrified Cowell and his fellow judges Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger with her terrible mash-up of Celine Dion, R Kelly and Salt N Pepa on the ITV show.

The X Factor
Queen A (Syco / Thames / ITV Plc)

Osbourne suggested the contestant resembled former Spice Girl Beckham and, after she sang, Cowell sniped: “Well, you sound like Victoria.”

His words tickled viewers, with many commenting on social media.

“Well you sound like Victoria” Haha major shade from Simon #XFactor xx,” posted one person on Twitter.

“You sound like Victoria” SIMON IM DEAD,” tweeted another fan, adding a laughing face emoji.

“Living for the Posh Spice shade on #XFactor tonight,” joked another.

Sunday-night’s instalment also saw all-male trio The Clique win over viewers – but it was their heels and a jaw-dropping dance move that got all the attention rather than their signing.

The act stole the show with their rendition of Little Mix track Touch in towering heels, complete with some sassy dance moves.

Then, at the end, one of the members showed off a dramatic move which saw him kick one leg in the air before collapsing on the floor.

It impressed Scherzinger, who declared: “I love you boys – you’ve got ass-titude!”

Viewers were also won over by the audition.

“Anyone that can dance in heels like that should get 4 yesses,” said one enthusiastic fan.

“The clique are fierce, I love it,” said another.

One person tweeted: “My first audition I’ve seen & if it’s the only one I’m happy. Hilarious!”