Tears: Emilie Cunliffe, 16, is comforted by mum Kym Marsh . For the thousands of people who apply to take part on reality TV show The Voice, the show offers the chance of living their dream. But for two teenagers who appeared on the first episode of the new series, the experience must have been closer to a nightmare after they were humiliated by the judges in front of millions of viewers. Campaigners have now questioned whether it is appropriate for such young people to be exposed to the stresses and disappointments of reality television. The fourth season of The Voice began on BBC1 on Saturday with new judge Rita Ora and attracted 8million viewers, the biggest audience for the opening episode of any of its series so far. Out of the ten singers to appear on the show, performing out of sight of Ora and her fellow judges Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am and Ricky Wilson, three were under the age of 18, two as young as 16. Both of the 16-year-olds were sent home by the judges, one being left weeping by the end of her audition. Judges were criticised for their actions on social media, particularly during the audition of Stephen McLaughlin, as they could be seen repeatedly questioning whether he was male or female and then laughed when he was eventually revealed as a man. Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, last night warned parents to exercise more responsibility and think hard before allowing their child to take part in a talent show. She also called for psychologists to be drafted in to decide an appropriate age-limit before people were allowed to enter. Those auditioning must be at least 16 to take part in The Voice, while for The X Factor, those as young as 14 can compete. One of the contestants on Saturday’s episode was Emilie Cunliffe, the 16-year-old daughter of former Hear’Say singer Kym Marsh, who found her own fame through a television talent contest, Popstars. Emilie said she had been determined to get onto the show and saw it as a way of following in her mother’s footsteps. Laughter: Ricky Wilson, left, sniggers during Stephen McLaughlin's audition . She sang Clairty by Zedd but was not chosen by any of the judges for their teams. She was left in tears by the rejection and needed her mother to meet her in the hallway to console her. The teenager later tweeted: ‘I will never give up, I’m determined to make my dream come true.’ Rejected: Stephen McLaughlin . Pippa Smith, the former co-chair of Safermedia, said in a personal capacity: ‘It’s not appropriate for people who have not reached full maturity to appear on these shows. The programmes will probably say they have permission from the parents but people are star struck by everything to do with television, so parents think it’s so exciting and cool. ‘From being a parent myself I would think going on such a show and being rejected could cause quite long-lasting damage and problems with self-esteem and take them a long while to pick up from that. You also never know how they are going to be treated by their peers at school, some might be kind but some might be very kind and will social media now, anyone can make adverse comments. ‘Producers will say they have taken an awful lot of care but it’s so individual with children and if they haven’t been through that experience themselves they can’t know how they are going to be impacted, so it’s a real gamble really.’ Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, added: ‘As a parent, if you have a child who you think might not cope, you have to think very carefully about whether you let them do that. I think it’s important for these programme have a clear and defined age policy and I would support it if they decided they weren’t going to take people under 18. There was hype around former Hear’Say singer's daughter, but her performance proved to be painfully dull . ‘If they do, that’s fine but they have a duty of care to these children and they have to keep that in mind as they are putting the programmes together and make them as pain free as possible. I certainly think it would be useful to get some input from psychologists to find out what age they think it is appropriate.’ The judges also received criticism on Twitter for their behaviour during the audition of Stephen, with audiences able to see them giggling and arguing whether it was a man or woman singing. After none of them turned to the singer, meaning the contestant would not go through to the next round, their chairs automatically span round and, on seeing it was a man, Ora burst into laughter and said she had known it was a man. One viewer tweeted: ‘Lmao [laugh my a** off] at Rita just questioning the gender of an innocent 16 year old and laughing on his face right after no one turned around.’ A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC takes the duty of care of all contestants very seriously. Viewers of The Voice can see it’s a caring environment and we ensure younger contestants who audition for the show are fully aware of the format and have family or guardians with them at all stages.’ The judges also received criticism on Twitter for their behaviour during the audition of Stephen . After their chairs automatically span round and, on seeing it was a man, Ora burst into laughter .
Fourth season of The Voice began on Saturday with new judge Rita Ora .
Out of the ten singers, three were under the age of 18, two as young as 16 .
Both of the 16-year-olds were sent home by the judges, one left weeping .
Judges were criticised, particularly during  Stephen McLaughlin's audition .
They could be seen repeatedly questioning whether he was male or female .
Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, warned parents to exercise more responsibility .
Tears: Emilie Cunliffe, 16, is comforted by mum Kym Marsh . For the thousands of people who apply to take part on reality TV show The Voice, the show offers the chance of living their dream. But for two teenagers who appeared on the first episode of the new series, the experience must have been closer to a nightmare after they were humiliated by the judges in front of millions of viewers. Campaigners have now questioned whether it is appropriate for such young people to be exposed to the stresses and disappointments of reality television. The fourth season of The Voice began on BBC1 on Saturday with new judge Rita Ora and attracted 8million viewers, the biggest audience for the opening episode of any of its series so far. Out of the ten singers to appear on the show, performing out of sight of Ora and her fellow judges Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am and Ricky Wilson, three were under the age of 18, two as young as 16. Both of the 16-year-olds were sent home by the judges, one being left weeping by the end of her audition. Judges were criticised for their actions on social media, particularly during the audition of Stephen McLaughlin, as they could be seen repeatedly questioning whether he was male or female and then laughed when he was eventually revealed as a man. Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, last night warned parents to exercise more responsibility and think hard before allowing their child to take part in a talent show. She also called for psychologists to be drafted in to decide an appropriate age-limit before people were allowed to enter. Those auditioning must be at least 16 to take part in The Voice, while for The X Factor, those as young as 14 can compete. One of the contestants on Saturday’s episode was Emilie Cunliffe, the 16-year-old daughter of former Hear’Say singer Kym Marsh, who found her own fame through a television talent contest, Popstars. Emilie said she had been determined to get onto the show and saw it as a way of following in her mother’s footsteps. Laughter: Ricky Wilson, left, sniggers during Stephen McLaughlin's audition . She sang Clairty by Zedd but was not chosen by any of the judges for their teams. She was left in tears by the rejection and needed her mother to meet her in the hallway to console her. The teenager later tweeted: ‘I will never give up, I’m determined to make my dream come true.’ Rejected: Stephen McLaughlin . Pippa Smith, the former co-chair of Safermedia, said in a personal capacity: ‘It’s not appropriate for people who have not reached full maturity to appear on these shows. The programmes will probably say they have permission from the parents but people are star struck by everything to do with television, so parents think it’s so exciting and cool. ‘From being a parent myself I would think going on such a show and being rejected could cause quite long-lasting damage and problems with self-esteem and take them a long while to pick up from that. You also never know how they are going to be treated by their peers at school, some might be kind but some might be very kind and will social media now, anyone can make adverse comments. ‘Producers will say they have taken an awful lot of care but it’s so individual with children and if they haven’t been through that experience themselves they can’t know how they are going to be impacted, so it’s a real gamble really.’ Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, added: ‘As a parent, if you have a child who you think might not cope, you have to think very carefully about whether you let them do that. I think it’s important for these programme have a clear and defined age policy and I would support it if they decided they weren’t going to take people under 18. There was hype around former Hear’Say singer's daughter, but her performance proved to be painfully dull . ‘If they do, that’s fine but they have a duty of care to these children and they have to keep that in mind as they are putting the programmes together and make them as pain free as possible. I certainly think it would be useful to get some input from psychologists to find out what age they think it is appropriate.’ The judges also received criticism on Twitter for their behaviour during the audition of Stephen, with audiences able to see them giggling and arguing whether it was a man or woman singing. After none of them turned to the singer, meaning the contestant would not go through to the next round, their chairs automatically span round and, on seeing it was a man, Ora burst into laughter and said she had known it was a man. One viewer tweeted: ‘Lmao [laugh my a** off] at Rita just questioning the gender of an innocent 16 year old and laughing on his face right after no one turned around.’ A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC takes the duty of care of all contestants very seriously. Viewers of The Voice can see it’s a caring environment and we ensure younger contestants who audition for the show are fully aware of the format and have family or guardians with them at all stages.’ The judges also received criticism on Twitter for their behaviour during the audition of Stephen . After their chairs automatically span round and, on seeing it was a man, Ora burst into laughter .
reality television. The fourth season of The Voice began on BBC1 on Saturday with new judge of its series so far. Out of the ten singers to will.i.am and Ricky Wilson, three were under the age of 18, two as young as 16. Both of the 16-year-olds were sent home by the judges, one Judges were criticised for their actions on Stephen McLaughlin, as they could be seen repeatedly questioning whether he was male or revealed as a man. Vivienne Pattison, of Media Watch UK, last night warned parents to exercise during Stephen McLaughlin's audition . She sang