TRANENT singing star Caitlyn Vanbeck has said facing The X Factor’s Six Chair Challenge was “just like the Hunger Games”.

Caitlyn, who will battle for a seat in the tough elimination round this weekend, admitted she found the whole experience terrifying.

And she likened it to the popular book trilogy, made famous by a movie franchise, in which the contestants must fight each other to the death for survival.

Caitlyn, 18, told the Courier: “It is just like the Hunger Games. There are only six spaces and every single girl wants one. It was terrifying, you watch it on television and think it will be OK but once you are on that stage, in front of the audience, it is so scary.”

The Six Chair Challenge has been described as the most brutal selection process of The X Factor, as more than a dozen contestants fight for six seats. Even if a contestant is awarded a seat, it can be taken away if another competitor is deemed to have performed better by the group’s judge.

And The X Factor audience, who watch the selection live, are vocal in their disapproval if they believe the judges have got it wrong, piling on the pressure.

Caitlyn, who sailed through Bootcamp to reach the challenge, admitted the whole process was tough.

She said: “It is hard because we spent a week together at Bootcamp and I got to know some of the girls and we became friends. You don’t want your friends to be eliminated, but at the same time, if I get a seat, I don’t want to be giving that up to anybody either.”

The Six Chair Challenge will be broadcast over two nights on STV this weekend.