Teenager held over rape threat to Cheryl Cole

The threat was alleged to have been made in a message left on X Factor presenter Dermot O'Leary's mobile phone last month.

Yesterday, offices said a 17-year-old boy from Tunbridge Wells in Kent had been arrested and released on bail.

The singer announced earlier this year that she and her footballer husband Ashley Cole were splitting following reports that the England and Chelsea star had been repeatedly unfaithful.

Cole, 26, is believed to have been alerted to the threat.

Security for the X Factor judges was apparently increased in 2008 after a tracking device was put in Simon Cowell's car.