McKeith said she was "so glad to be leaving" the reality programme

Judge Sharon Osbourne said the diet expert had served up the musical equivalent of salmonella.

Fellow panellist Simon Cowell branded her rendition of The Shoop Shoop Song as the worst he had ever heard.

McKeith said she was relieved to have been eliminated from ITV1's celebrity singing contest, adding the experience had been "like being in jail".

Casting the decisive vote in a showdown between McKeith and glamour model Michelle Marsh, Cowell said he had made his decision "for the good of Great Britain".

Remaining contestants

On Monday, magician Paul Daniels and his wife and stage assistant Debbie McGee became the first contestants to leave the show.

Daniels went on to say that while he had enjoyed his appearance, he believed reality series such as X Factor were the "most boring shows on television".

Among those remaining in the contest - which concludes with a live final on 5 June - are BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, ex-Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson and rugby player Matt Stevens.

Lucy Benjamin, who played Lisa in EastEnders, and James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos - both famous for newspaper kiss-and-tell stories - are in the running as well.

The show also features a group of celebrity chefs - Aldo Zilli, Paul Rankin, Ross Burden and Jean-Christophe Novelli.