Haven't heard that, though I know of one guy who got in having passed his IR on second attempt second series.
I think as long as you can explain what happened in a way that shows your problems weren't down to complete lack of aptitude, and crucially explain what you learnt from it then it shouldn't be a problem. Worked for me - I had to redo an assymetric circuit in my initial IR and circuits in my CPL. During my application CTC suggested I add a covering note detailing this.