Over the last decade or so, television producers have become obsessed with getting people to cry on camera.

It’s a manipulative technique aimed at creating ‘water-cooler TV’ moments that capture viewers’ hearts and generate ratings and publicity.

As a result, there are now more cry babies on telly than you can shake a stick at. Whether you’ve messed up your mille-feuilles on The Great British Bake-Off or fallen flat in the foxtrot on Strictly, you’re expected to dissolve into uncontrollable sobs of despair while the cameras are running.

The other day I watched a grown man blub on Deal Or No Deal while showing Noel Edmonds a photo of his nan.

I’m afraid I find all the weeping and wailing a bit tiresome, and it seems I’m not alone. With more than a million viewers switching off X Factor at the weekend, it appears that a particularly nasty attempt to manipulate our emotions has backfired.

In the scheme of things, I don’t really care about X Factor contestants and my usual reaction to their tears is either tut-tutting impatience or mild amusement, but even I thought the theatre of cruelty kicking off this year’s live shows was a cheap trick.

In a ‘surprise twist’ which was actually quite predictable given the higher-than-usual numbers of contestants reaching this stage, the judges got rid of one act from each category after just one live performance.

It all seemed horribly harsh, especially since the judges had each spent months choosing four acts from thousands to compete in the coveted Saturday night shows, showering their protegees with praise and insisting that they were born to be global superstars.

X Factor came under fire earlier in the series when a middle-aged woman with learning difficulties was jeered at by the audience during her audition. Watching a bewildered 16-year-old girl on Sunday’s show shaking with shock as she was booted off the contest before it had barely begun was equally uncomfortable to watch.

The big switch-off has been partly blamed on the length of the programme – Saturday’s show lasted a staggering two-and-a-half hours – and endless ad breaks, but I think viewers might also be getting tired of having their emotions manipulated in such a cynical way.

Crying on camera is encouraged because it makes ‘good TV’, but it’s now such a cliche that it has lost impact. It has cheapened human emotion; I can’t watch anyone cry on telly now without dismissing them as self-indulgent.

If viewers continue to switch off, maybe the tide will turn. Who knows, TV producers may even start to celebrate self-control and dignity.