Security around Simon Cowell's British TV contest The X Factor is on high-alert after a crazed fan tried to attack judge and Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole.

Cowell and Cole were leaving a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland after filming scenes for the televised talent show this month when they were approached by an unidentified man. Cole was posing for photographers when the lone man lunged through the crowd and grabbed her. The 25-year-old singer was saved by her assistant.

A spokesman for the show says, "Cheryl happily posed for a picture with this man - then he came up behind her and bear-hugged her." Security for other The X Factor stars - including Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue - has also been stepped up.

-More Cheryl Cole Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)