129-472: The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series aired on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. Dermot O'Leary hosted the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2 . Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow , Kelly Rowland and Tulisa . Barlow, Rowland, Tulisa joined
258-557: A 2:1 degree. Huq trained part-time at the National Youth Music Theatre . In 1989, at the age of 14, she appeared with them on Blue Peter and sang a solo. The following year, she appeared alongside Jude Law in Captain Stirrick , a National Youth Music Theatre production. Before the 1992 general election , Huq interviewed Labour leader Neil Kinnock for the children's programme Newsround , and appeared as
387-595: A Facebook campaign targeted against The X Factor and its effect on British music took " Killing in the Name " by Rage Against the Machine to the Christmas number one spot at the expense of the X Factor winner's single by Joe McElderry . The X Factor usually has at least one "novelty" or "joke" act in the live shows, which help to boost ratings and add some fun into the live shows, although they tend to be controversial due to
516-464: A Monday morning." At the 2011 National Television Awards , The X Factor won the Talent Show award, beating Strictly Come Dancing , Britain's Got Talent and Dancing on Ice . At the 2012 National Television Awards , The X Factor again beat Strictly Come Dancing , Britain's Got Talent and Dancing on Ice to the award. The show also won Best UK TV Show at the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards . At
645-486: A backing track, while for other series, they were conducted before a live audience (similar to Britain's Got Talent , with performances either done a cappella or over a backing track. Filming takes place during this stage, with the final edits for audition episodes focusing on the best, the worst and the most bizarre. In the second round, participants who reach this stage are sent to a "bootcamp" to refine their performances, while they are organised into categories based on
774-533: A boy that Cookie considers the most annoying boy in the world moves next door. Huq wrote and illustrated the book. The character of Cookie has been described by Huq as "a cross between Wimpy Kid and Bridget Jones." As of May 2020, the next book in the series, with a theme of climate change, was due to be published in August 2020. In 2005, Huq took part in the BBC One fundraising show Comic Relief Does Fame Academy . She
903-451: A charity which Cowell said do "amazing work". It is the fourth time finalists have released a charity single. Series 5 contestants JLS and series 7 contestants One Direction also feature on the single. The winner's single was Damien Rice 's " Cannonball ". For the first time since series 1 , the winner's single was not released in the week of the coveted Christmas number one chart battle. The Official Charts Company announced that
1032-545: A comedy programme, we're a serious factual drama". In both 2005 and 2006, The X Factor won the award for " Most Popular Entertainment Programme " at the National Television Awards . At the same awards in 2007, the show also won the award for "Most Popular Talent Show". In 2008 it lost out to Strictly Come Dancing at the TV Quick Awards, TRIC Awards and National Television Awards, despite beating it in
1161-505: A contestant on Blockbusters in the same year. She appeared as an uncredited extra playing a schoolgirl in the BBC1 sitcom 2point4 Children in the Series 2 episode "I'm Going Slightly Mad". Her presenting debut, at the age of 16, was on the satellite television show, TVFM. She then appeared on a GMTV Saturday morning children's quiz show entitled Eat Your Words between 1994 and 1996. She
1290-573: A creative director for the programme, while Walsh agreed to return as a result of this situation. Osbourne later left the programme before the fifth series in 2008, with ITV later replacing her with Cheryl . During the seventh series, Minogue went on maternity leave, leaving the production staff to fill her place on the panel with a series of guest judges during auditions – these included Geri Halliwell , Natalie Imbruglia , Katy Perry , Pixie Lott and Nicole Scherzinger . In May 2011, Cowell and Cheryl announced their decision to leave
1419-527: A different theme. The results show often featured a group performance by the remaining contestants and guest live performances. The first live results show included live performances from series 7 winner Matt Cardle and Cee Lo Green , while Katy Perry and The Wanted performed on the second results show. On the third results show, Bruno Mars , Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé and Kelly Clarkson performed. Series 7 contestant Cher Lloyd and The X Factor USA judge Nicole Scherzinger performed on
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#17330847930311548-509: A global superstar. Tulisa hoped to "bring something fresh and new to the panel", promising to speak her mind. Rowland wanted an "opportunity to hear a few diamonds in the rough" and said she would be "sternly honest". In week 4 of the live shows on 29 and 30 October, Rowland was unable to attend due to a throat infection so series 5 winner Alexandra Burke took her place as an extra judge on the panel. In February 2011, Konnie Huq , who presented spin-off series The Xtra Factor for series 7 ,
1677-411: A group by the judges. They went on to become the first girl group to make it past week seven of the live shows, the first girl group to reach the finals and the first girl group to win the show. The eighth series also won Most Popular Talent Show at the 17th National Television Awards on 25 January 2012. On 5 May 2011, it was announced that Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole would not return as judges for
1806-610: A large degree of mass appeal from among the British public, become a synonymous part of Saturday night television, after its peak in 2010, viewing figures declined by more than 50% over the next decade, with its final series aired in 2018. Although the programme was put into hiatus by Cowell in 2019, to give the format a break and determine how best to proceed with it, this hiatus continued on throughout 2020, until ITV formally announced in July 2021 that it had 'no current plans' for another series. At
1935-521: A legal challenge by Simon Fuller , the creator of Pop Idol , over perceived similarities between the two shows. Each year's competition begins with auditions round, which consists of three stages held several months prior to the series premiere, and within venues around the United Kingdom ; in some series, auditions were also allowed within the Republic of Ireland . Participants are required to provide
2064-400: A minute. In March 2007, she apologised on air on behalf of the programme to viewers, after the result of a competition to identify the celebrity owner of a pair of shoes was faked. On 31 May 2007, Huq announced she would be leaving Blue Peter . On 22 January 2008, she hosted her final Blue Peter , with a clip show of her highlights through the ten years she had been on the programme. She
2193-508: A mob after being mistaken for a conspirator. In November 2013 a recording of the Globe Theatre production of Richard II was shown in 3,000 schools. The performances were followed by a question-and-answer session hosted by Huq. In May 2022 the BBC announced that Huq would be one of the guest presenters to take over Richard Osman 's role on Pointless . On 15 September 2006, Huq became one of
2322-419: A mock version of a "mission documentary" entitled Konnie's Great British Wee . She was a guest on political show This Week on 18 December 2008, appearing with M.P. Charles Kennedy . She presented Guinness World Records Smashed with Steve Jones on Sundays on Sky1 in 2009. On 15 May 2009, Huq began to present entertainment show Hannah-Oke on The Disney Channel with Duncan James . The show
2451-446: A number of different groups, each depending on size, height, fashion and chemistry. Lineup changes may also sometimes occur depending on what the judges feel the group is missing or which members they think work well with others. In the tenth series, the bootcamp stage was changed to a new format called "Six-Chair Challenge" in which participants had to secure a majority vote to sit in one of six empty chairs for their category, to move into
2580-463: A panel of judges, each selected for their background in the music industry – these have included Cowell, Louis Walsh , Sharon Osbourne , Dannii Minogue , Cheryl , Gary Barlow , Tulisa , Kelly Rowland , Nicole Scherzinger , Mel B , Rita Ora , and Robbie Williams . Those acts who survived the auditions entered a bootcamp stage in which the judges each took charge of a category of contestants to mentor, determining who may move on to
2709-412: A peak audience of 19.1 million viewers and over 63% of the audience share during its broadcast. Viewing figures reached their peak by 2010, with the seventh series achieving average viewing figures of over 14 million viewers, and its live final achieving a peak audience of 19.4 million viewers. In 2011, the eighth series achieved an average viewing figure of 12.4 million viewers during its broadcast, and
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#17330847930312838-508: A performance across each stage, focused on singing a piece from another artist to gauge their musical talent. The first round consists of auditionees performing before production staff – either by application and appointment, or at "open" auditions that anyone can attend. Those wishing to apply could do so via postal or online applications, with The X Factor having no upper-age limit and no restriction on groups participating. If an auditionee passes this stage, they then move on to
2967-429: A series of elimination heats, with those that make it through competition to win in a live final, with these filmed in two parts in a fixed studio venue (except for the final after the eighth series): a performance episode featuring all active participants; and a results episode, which includes a live or pre-recorded performances by celebrity performers. During this time, they move into shared accommodation while involved in
3096-412: A tie, the result goes to deadlock, where the earlier public vote determines the elimination of the acts in the final showdown which means, of the two acts in the final showdown, the act who received the lowest number of votes in the public vote is eliminated. Sometimes in certain years, starting with the third series, due to an increased number of acts in the live shows or reduced weeks, a double elimination
3225-565: A villainous servant (also called Konnie) in the last episode of the second series of Robin Hood . In 2013, Huq played a presenter of the fictional telethon "Help a Blameless Child" in television comedy series A Touch of Cloth . In 2019, she appeared briefly as a breakfast television presenter of the in-universe show Pam & Sam in Good Omens , which was based on the book written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett . In December 2009, Huq won
3354-588: Is a British reality television music competition, and part of the global X Factor franchise created by Simon Cowell . Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's British entertainment company, Thames ( Talkback Thames until 2011), and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV , as well as simulcast on Virgin Media One in Ireland. The programme ran for around 445 episodes across fifteen series, each one primarily broadcast late in
3483-415: Is featured where the three acts who were the lowest ranked in the public vote are revealed, with the act who finished last in the public vote is immediately eliminated with the other two acts in the bottom two perform in the final showdown for the judges' votes. After only five (series 2, 4–6), or four (series, 1, 3, 7–9), or three (series 10–13, 15) acts remain, no final showdown is involved –
3612-463: Is not guaranteed. For the first three series after the programme began in 2004, the judging panel consisted of music executive and TV producer Simon Cowell , and music managers Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh , while it was presented by Kate Thornton . In March 2007, Thornton was dropped from the programme, with Dermot O'Leary offered a two-year contract, worth £1 million, to take over as host, which eventually led to him ending his involvement in
3741-514: Is the third longest-serving Blue Peter presenter and its longest-serving female host, having passed Valerie Singleton 's record on 1 October 2007. She holds the record for working with the most co-presenters while on the show, with a total of 10. These are Stuart Miles , Katy Hill , Romana D'Annunzio , Richard Bacon , Simon Thomas , Matt Baker , Liz Barker , Zoe Salmon , Gethin Jones and Andy Akinwolere . Between 2002 and 2004, Huq co-presented
3870-494: The Big Brother franchise later that year to concentrate on his new role. In June that same year, the judging panel was expanded to include a fourth judge, and saw changes in the lineup: Brian Friedman took over from Walsh when he chose to leave the programme, while Australian singer Dannii Minogue joined the panel. However, Friedman later dropped out of the panel during auditions for the fourth series, being later reassigned as
3999-432: The 2015 National Television Awards , The X Factor won Best Talent Show for the first time in three years, beating Strictly Come Dancing , Britain's Got Talent and The Voice UK . From the outset, The X Factor has attracted heavy criticism. Recurring allegations include: that the excessive commercialism of the show detracts from its supposed purpose of unearthing musical talent and even actively damages and distorts
The X Factor (British TV series) series 8 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4128-576: The Best Rising Star Screenplay Angel award at the Monaco International Film Festival for her screenplay Ahmed and Mildred , a story described as "a superhero themed journey into the imagination of two young infants as they experience love at first sight." In March 2014, Ahmed and Mildred was selected as one of the projects to receive funding from Film London to enable production to take place. She co-wrote
4257-563: The CBBC Channel 's UK Top 40 chart show and in early 2003 she was briefly a presenter for Top of the Pops . She presented GMTV 's LK today coverage of New York Fashion Week on the week of 10 September 2007. In June 2007 she was a guest panellist on the comedy gameshow 8 out of 10 Cats . In December 2007, Huq appeared on a celebrity version of Ready Steady Cook with Blue Peter co-presenter Andy Akinwolere . She began presenting
4386-727: The ITV1 London show London Talking , a political debate show, alongside Vanessa Feltz and Nick Ferrari in 2007, and co-presented some of the weekly Your News programmes for BBC News in 2008. Huq was the main presenter for the third series, in 2008, of Channel Five show Zoo Days , a documentary series about the animals and staff at Chester and Colchester Zoos. Huq presented The Red Bull Air Race with Dougie Anderson for Channel 4 in 2008. Huq appeared with her future husband Charlie Brooker in his satirical review programme Screenwipe in December 2008 on BBC Four . She hosted
4515-644: The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas after a nine-month relationship. They have two sons. Huq has said she reduced her television commitments so that she could focus on her children. Huq supported the Labour Party at the 2010 general election . Her sister, Rupa , was elected as the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton at the 2015 general election . On 6 April 2008, Huq participated in
4644-795: The Radio 4 biographical series Great Lives , where participants select someone who has inspired them, and chose Ada Lovelace . She appeared as herself in The Kumars at No 42 in 2001. In 2007, she had minor roles in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode " Invasion of the Bane ", and in the CBBC series M.I.High episode "The Big Freeze". She played herself again in the FM episode "Golden Lady" in March 2009. She played
4773-653: The Royal Institution . On 29 June 2016, Huq hosted VOOM 2016 , a pitch competition, for Virgin Media Business. Her book for children Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World was published in 2019 and is the first of a projected three-book series. The book centres around the fictional character Cookie Haque, a schoolchild who enjoys learning about science, and what happens when her best friend moves away, and
4902-409: The X Factor finalists in aid of Help for Heroes, we decided we wanted to do something annually on the show to help good causes." The 2009 contestants released a cover of Michael Jackson 's " You Are Not Alone " which was released in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and reached number one. The 2010 contestants released a cover of David Bowie 's " 'Heroes ", with proceeds once again going to
5031-543: The 16 finalists to perform this year's charity single, " Wishing on a Star ". The semi-final live result show featured performances from Justin Bieber and The X Factor judge Rowland. The live final featured performances from Coldplay , JLS , Leona Lewis , Michael Bublé and One Direction For the live finals, The X Factor received new graphics and theme music similar to those already introduced on The X Factor USA . Voting by text message, which had been absent since 2007,
5160-645: The 2008 Christmas number one spot, and in 2009 a similar internet-led campaign was successful, taking Rage Against the Machine 's " Killing in the Name " to Christmas number one at the expense of The X Factor winner Joe McElderry. McElderry's single climbed to the top of the chart a week later. In series 1–2, the winner's debut album would be released a few months after their victory in the show. The album would contain some new material but would consist largely of cover versions . This format changed with series 3 winner Leona Lewis . Cowell, Lewis's X Factor mentor and newly appointed manager, said: "We could have gone into
5289-453: The 2011 Christmas number-one would be announced on Christmas Day, meaning releases on 18 December would be new entries in the chart that week. Little Mix's winner's single was released on 14 December, which meant it would have to maintain significant sales numbers in its second week to achieve the Christmas number one. It was announced on 17 November that N-Dubz rapper Fazer would be producing
The X Factor (British TV series) series 8 - Misplaced Pages Continue
5418-461: The British children's television programme Blue Peter , presenting it from 1997 to 2008. She has been a presenter and guest of shows including the 2010 series of The Xtra Factor on ITV2. She co-wrote the Black Mirror episode " Fifteen Million Merits " with her husband, Charlie Brooker . Her children's book Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World was published in 2019. She published
5547-518: The Help for Heroes charity. In 2011, the contestants released Rose Royce 's " Wishing on a Star " and the proceeds were donated to Together for Short Lives . This song features previous contestants JLS and One Direction . In 2012, it was announced that the winner's single would also be the charity single. The charity single was scrapped after series 8, although the winner's singles from series 9 onwards were all released for charity. In celebration of
5676-463: The Love ", " Breakeven ", " Price Tag ", " Born This Way ", " Forget You " or " Firework ". The judges then went on to cut over 80 acts, but called back some soloists, who were asked if they were interested in being in a group. All agreed and were workshopped to see which singers would work well together. They formed six new groups: Nu Vibe, Faux Pas, The Lovettes, The Risk, Misfits and Orion. The second episode
5805-505: The Stars was confirmed in the latter half of 2019 as The X Factor: Celebrity and began in October 2019. The show was won by Megan McKenna , with Max and Harvey finishing as runners-up. In November 2019, Cowell announced that The X Factor: The Band would launch on 9 December 2019, with the premise of finding either the biggest male or female group. Each episode lasted for 90 minutes. The show
5934-447: The UK charts . From 2011, viewing figures began to decline, and Cowell later opted to rest the programme in 2019, assigning two spin-offs as mini-series that year – The X Factor: Celebrity and The X Factor: The Band . On 28 July 2021, ITV announced that there were no plans to air another series of the programme, effectively meaning it was shelved. The programme's format
6063-474: The UK clash with the live shows of Australia's Got Talent during June and July. For this reason I am unable to return". After Cowell and Cole announced their departures, a number of celebrities were linked to the judging role including Frankie Sandford , Alesha Dixon , Lily Allen , and Noel Gallagher . On 9 May 2011, five days before Minogue announced her departure, news broke that Cowell had offered his seat to Gary Barlow of Take That , though his contract
6192-405: The UK music industry; that auditionees at mass auditions are shabbily treated; that controversy is deliberately courted and orchestrated, and supposedly spontaneous scenes are staged and scripted; that problems with phone lines leave members of the public unable to vote for their favourite acts; and that contestants are manipulated and unfairly edited. This criticism became very public in 2009 when
6321-472: The act who finished last in the public vote is automatically eliminated. In the final, the public vote decides the winner, who receives at the end of the competition a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music , in association with Sony Music , which, by the beginning of the fifth series, included a £150,000 cash advance with the balance covering the costs of recording and marketing. Other highly placed contestants may also be offered recording deals, but this
6450-450: The advert and modelled clothes from the company. The finalists will be paid for the advertisement. After his ejection from the competition, M&S announced that Frankie Cocozza's face would be edited out of the advert, as it wasn't possible to edit his voice from the advert. On 17 November 2011, M&S posted the latest edit of the advert to their official YouTube account, with Cocozza's vocals completely erased. Initial viewing figures for
6579-501: The band when I am not truly committed to it for the long term. I believe The Risk can win The X Factor and I'm backing them all the way. I count them as my friends so I know we'll stay in touch." He was replaced by Ashford Campbell, who was a member of Nu Vibe , another manufactured boyband who had already previously been eliminated. On 8 November 2011, Frankie Cocozza was ejected from the competition, saying he "no longer [deserved his] place in
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#17330847930316708-439: The bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes. The Risk was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. However, voting statistics revealed that Robinson received more votes than Brucknell which meant that if the result went to deadlock, Robinson would have been saved. On 8 November 2011, Frankie Cocozza
6837-429: The conditions of their application. The first category consists of men and women solo acts aged under 24 – both genders were conjoined in early series until split into individual gender in the fourth series – with the minimum age allowed being 16 (except for the fourth to sixth series where it was lowered to 14). The second category consists of men and women solo acts aged 25 and older (with
6966-461: The earliest ever debut album release by an X Factor winner. During the fifth series of the show, the contestants released a cover of Mariah Carey 's " Hero " in aid of Help for Heroes which reached number one in the UK singles charts. Following the success of the song, Cowell announced that a charity single would be released annually (though the process was discontinued in series 9). He is quoted as saying: "Following last year's record we made with
7095-404: The eighth series to work on the first season of The X Factor USA . On 14 May 2011, Dannii Minogue announced that she would not be returning either, due to a clash with Australia's Got Talent , another show for which she judges. Of her decision, Minogue said, "During discussions for me to return to The X Factor it became clear that unfortunately, this year, The X Factor audition dates in
7224-425: The eighth series, Rowland was unable to attend live episodes for medical reasons, leading to previous X Factor winner Alexandra Burke standing in for her. After the series concluded, Rowland opted to drop out of the programme due to other commitments, leading to a series of guest judges being used during the ninth series, before Nicole Scherzinger was chosen as her replacement. In May 2013, Tulisa announced she
7353-432: The episode. Performance may sometimes be accompanied by backing dancers and musicians, and, in some cases, participants may also provide their own music and/or dance routines. At the end of each performance, the judges provide feedback on each performance, with their discussions often regularly adding entertainment value to each live episode. However, success is determined by the public vote in each episode. The system involves
7482-502: The exception of a few series where the minimum age was raised to 26, 27, 28 and 29). The third and final category consists of group acts, which include two or more members within each group. During this time, the producers decide on which judge for that year's competition is assigned to mentoring one of the category of participants. After the judges receive their assigned category, they then oversee two stages of performances from participants in each category, in which they must whittle down
7611-408: The final two, her favourite performance would have been, " The Show Must Go On " from week six, and would have sung " All I Want For Christmas Is You " for her Christmas song, as well as performing " Cannonball ". 11 December It was announced on 12 October 2011, that the 16 finalists would record a cover version of " Wishing on a Star ", released on 20 November in aid of Together for Short Lives ,
7740-433: The finals by Walsh, but pulled out of the competition at the end of the judges' houses stage, stating that she did not want to be away from her family. Sami Brookes, who had initially not made it through, took her place in the live shows. Key: The live shows began on 8 October. Each week, the contestants' performances took place on Saturday and the results were announced on Sunday. As with previous series, each live show had
7869-522: The first X Factor contestant to return to the show as a judge. It was reported on 28 June 2011 that the final would take place on 10 and 11 December 2011 at Wembley Arena instead of the usual Fountain Studios . On 26 October 2011, Rhythmix announced that they would change their name due to pressure from a children's music charity of the same name, after the programme tried to trademark "Rhythmix" in Europe. It
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#17330847930317998-897: The first episode on 20 August 2011. More of the London auditions, as well as the Liverpool and Manchester auditions, aired on 27 August 2011. On 3 September, the Glasgow auditions and more from London were shown. More auditions from Manchester, Birmingham and London were broadcast during the 10 September episode. More from London, plus the Manchester and Glasgow auditions were broadcast in the 11 September episode. The 17 September episode showed more auditions from Liverpool, Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Manchester. The final auditions aired on 18 September, and featured auditions from Liverpool, London and Cardiff. Bootcamp started on 18 August 2011. The first episode of bootcamp
8127-422: The first episode were placed at 11.3 million for ITV1, however, the peak audience was 12.6 million, a match for the highest viewing figures for an X Factor series opener, and almost 5 million more than Doctor Who on BBC One , the second-highest rated programme that night. Like the previous two series, the show dominated the weekly rankings, taking the top spot for the first three weeks and then
8256-901: The first time, contestants could upload a video to YouTube. Auditions in front of the judges for series 8 took place in Cardiff , London, Glasgow , Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester . It was the first time auditions had taken place in Liverpool, and the city replaced Dublin , where auditions were held in 2010. The auditions started in Birmingham's LG Arena on 1 and 2 June. They then took place in Glasgow's SEC Centre on 6 June and continued in Manchester's Event City on 12, 13 and 14 June. More auditions took place at Cardiff's International Arena on 29 June, and at London's O2 on 6, 7 and 8 July, and finished in Liverpool's Echo Arena on 13 and 14 July. The Manchester auditions were postponed from 18 to 20 May. London and Birmingham auditions were broadcast during
8385-873: The follow-up, Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World , in 2020 along with her third children's book, Fearless Fairy Tales: The Perfect Book for Homeschooling Fun and Inspiration . Kanak Asha Huq was born in the Hammersmith district of London on 17 July 1975, the daughter of Muslim parents who emigrated from Bangladesh in the 1960s. She grew up in the Ealing district of London with her two elder sisters, Nutun, and future Labour Party politician Rupa . She attended Notting Hill & Ealing High School and obtained nine GCSEs , then gained A-levels in chemistry, mathematics, and physics. She went on to study economics at Robinson College, Cambridge , graduating with
8514-519: The fourth live result show. Series 5 runners up JLS and Florence and the Machine performed on the fifth live results show, while Lady Gaga and series 7 contestants One Direction performed on the sixth. The seventh live show featured performances from Rihanna and series 7 runner-up Rebecca Ferguson ,. The eighth live results show included performances from former contestant and The Xtra Factor host Olly Murs featuring The Muppets , and Jessie J . JLS and One Direction also appeared alongside
8643-468: The group so Ashford Campbell who was originally in Nu Vibe (eliminated Week 2) joined The Risk. However, voting statistics revealed that Habibis received more votes than Misha B which meant that if the result went to deadlock, Habibis would have been saved. In a double elimination special, two acts were eliminated from the series fifth results show. The three acts with the fewest public votes were announced as
8772-482: The joke contestants made it through to the live shows used to be the most gloriously British part of The X Factor . We love an underdog... It was a vital part of the format." The Xtra Factor (known as The Xtra Factor Live in 2016) was a behind-the-scenes companion show that was broadcast on ITV2 in the UK and on TV3 in Ireland, usually on Saturday and Sunday nights after the main show, this aired from 4 September 2004 to 11 December 2016. On 18 January 2017, it
8901-400: The judges – while earlier series focused on reprisal of their earlier songs, producers later changed this after the fourth series to allow them to pick new songs to perform to. After their performances are completed, the judges vote on which act to eliminate. When the fourth series saw the introduction of a fourth judge, the result was given the chance to be tied. In the event of
9030-411: The judges and a live studio audience. Their routine is often designed to fully judge their singing talent, appearance, personality and stage presence that may not have been noticeable during auditions, with their routine focusing a performance to a specific song – originally a pop or contemporary hit from the charts in early series, before being later assigned based on the musical theme for
9159-479: The judges each have their selected participants for their category to mentor, these participants then move on to the "judges' houses" stage of the competition, which is held in private residences for each judge; according to Louis Walsh , these homes tend to not belong to the judges, but rented out for this purpose. In this stage, the participants each conduct a performance to their category's judge, who must decide which of their category's participants will proceed into
9288-447: The judges for that year's competition. To proceed into the next round of the contest, each participant must secure a majority vote from the judges, otherwise they are eliminated at this point; the judges themselves will usually comment on what they heard first, before they cast their vote. For the majority of series (Series 1–5, 10–11, and 13–14), the third stage auditions were conducted in a closed room in which performance were done without
9417-441: The live episodes, sharing this with production staff; filming "behind-the-scenes" within the accommodation is frequently down and used in live episodes for The Xtra Factor . In some series, some additional participants are sometimes selected from the rejects to act as wildcards in these stages, alongside those who progressed to the live episodes. In these stages, each participant not only performs on live television, but also before
9546-404: The live rounds. Both the bootcamp and the judges' homes stages of the contest are pre-recorded, though in some cases, either between the first and second stages of Bootcamp or prior to judges' houses, judges may look at certain rejected solo artists who they feel have potential but may be better suited in a group, and in an attempt to give them a lifeline, then send these acts into a room to form
9675-449: The live stages of the contest, with a public vote in the live rounds eliminating these contestants one by one. The winner of the live final received a recording contract with record label Syco Music and a cash payment, though the majority was allocated to marketing and recording costs. At the same time of its premiere, The X Factor was accompanied by spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor on ITV2 , which focused on
9804-507: The nation and facing the judges of the previous The X Factor series: Cowell, Osbourne and Walsh. Voting revenues were donated to the celebrities' chosen charities. The contestants were Michelle Marsh , Nikki Sanderson , Matt Stevens , Lucy Benjamin , Gillian McKeith , Chris Moyles , Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee , James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos , and "The Chefs", a quartet of celebrity chefs comprising Jean-Christophe Novelli , Aldo Zilli , Paul Rankin and Ross Burden . The winner of
9933-835: The new groups, and the final group, four-piece girl group Rhythmix (later known in the series as Little Mix ), was made from two members each from Faux Pas and Orion. Judges' houses, the final part of the selection process, was filmed in September. Judges were given their categories in late August. Barlow mentored the Boys, Rowland the Girls, Walsh the Over 25s, and Tulisa the Groups. Robbie Williams joined Barlow in Los Angeles, Jennifer Hudson assisted Rowland in Miami, Walsh
10062-417: The next stage; if all six seats were filled, the judge of that category must replace one of these participants with another they wish to see through. This new format, despite some tweaks, was not well received by viewers after its introduction. Contestants who make it through both the second and third stages eventually enter the live rounds of the competition. By this stage they compete against each other over
10191-421: The next two years, though the latter two cast doubts on this arrangement. Cowell was joined on the judging panel by Robbie Williams , Ayda Field and Louis Tomlinson for the fifteenth and final series in 2018. When the programme initially began in 2004, its viewing figures fell behind those for the BBC's rival talent show Strictly Come Dancing . However, the situation changed in the following year, when
10320-419: The number of participants to around six per category (eight for the seventh and eighth series). The process varies across the programme's history – in most cases, their performances during this stage determines whether they move on to the next round or not; in some series, audition tapes are reviewed before the round with the judges making their choices before this stage of the competition. Once
10449-511: The panel replacing judges, Simon Cowell , Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole . Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection. Little Mix , a British four-piece girl group known earlier in the show as Rhythmix, was the first group to win the series. The group consisting of members Leigh-Anne Pinnock , Jesy Nelson , and Perrie Edwards , and Jade Thirlwall , all auditioned as solo artists before being put together as
10578-629: The presenters of The Tube with Tony Wilson , Alex James and Emily Rose on Channel 4 Radio working with production company UKoneFM. The first edition was broadcast on 3 November 2006. Huq made her debut as a news presenter on the BBC Asian Network in September 2007, in a series of documentaries on a radio current affairs programme called the Asian Network Report . She presented an episode of Archive on 4 in 2010, reviewing forty years of Sesame Street . In 2013, she took part in
10707-549: The programme before the eighth series, in order to concentrate on the American edition of the programme . That same month, Minogue also left the programme, citing that her schedule for the live episodes of Australia's Got Talent that year would conflict with her involvement with The X Factor . Several celebrities in the music industry were approached to replace all three, before the producers opted for their replacements to be Gary Barlow , Tulisa , and Kelly Rowland . During
10836-551: The programme to focus on his music career, with Flack later departing the programme around the same time. The following month, O'Leary rejoined the programme as presenter. Alongside the change in presenters, the judging panel was also changed again – after Grimshaw left in February 2016, Cheryl in April, and Ora in May, Cowell was rejoined by Walsh, Osbourne and Scherzinger, for
10965-492: The programme were effectively worse off, with The X Factor achieving low average viewing figures of less than seven million viewers, effectively placing its future in doubt after the fifteenth series, and leading to its eventual cancellation. At the 2005 British Comedy Awards , The X Factor beat Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway to take the award for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme. This prompting Cowell to remark, "We're not
11094-523: The programme's 2004 Summer Expedition to India, Huq became an extra in the Bollywood film Musafir (2004), and practised dancing alongside its stars. For the programme's 2004 Welcome Home appeal, she visited Angola , hoping to reunite children and their families who had been separated due to war. In 2008, during her last programme, she broke a Guinness World Record by pinning 17 Blue Peter Badges onto fellow presenter Andy Akinwolere 's shirt in
11223-557: The ratings. In 2010, The X Factor won "Best Talent Show" at the National Television Awards. The show won the Entertainment award at the 2010 Royal Television Society Awards , described as "Undeniably a brilliant, genre-defining piece of television; the team behind this show never rest on their laurels and are determined to continually raise the bar and set new standards. Must-see television, which everyone talks about on
11352-535: The recent episode's performances; this was later replaced in 2016 with an online spin-off show, Xtra Bites , on ITV Hub . The programme itself proved popular on British television, attracting high viewing figures at its peak – over 14 million on average in the seventh series – leading to the formation of an international franchise . In addition, many of its acts, including JLS , Little Mix , One Direction and Ella Henderson , later went on to release singles that entered number-one in
11481-417: The result to deadlock, Brookes would have been saved. Rowland did not appear on the judging panel for week 4 due to illness, so series 5 winner Alexandra Burke took her place as an extra judge on the panel. However, Burke did not vote on the results show; instead, Rowland voted via telephone link from Los Angeles . Rhythmix's new name 'Little Mix' took effect from Week 4. Ashley Baptiste from The Risk quit
11610-466: The result went to deadlock, Brucknell would have been saved. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Colton was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. Starting in the quarter-final, each act performed two songs with voting lines opening after the first round of performances. However, voting statistics revealed that Devlin received more votes than Misha B which meant that if
11739-533: The result went to deadlock, Devlin would have advanced to the semi-final and Misha B would have been eliminated. The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Misha B, was automatically eliminated. After her elimination, Misha B reprised her week 6 final showdown performance of " Who You Are " as her exit song. The final was held at Wembley Arena and lasted for over four hours, split over Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December 2011. 10 December If Amelia Lily had made
11868-425: The results are announced of each stage of the live shows is shown, with the public vote results not detailing the actual number of votes or the ranked order (first to last) the public placed each act in). In the elimination stages, the two acts to be the lowest ranked in the public vote are revealed, and thus face off against each other in a "final showdown". This consists of conducting a new performance primarily for
11997-399: The same phone number, with exception for the last two digits which, beginning at "01", is assigned to each participant by order of appearance. The phone number is displayed twice for viewers – once after a participant's performance is over, and a second time after all performances are completed and phone lines opened. Voting is conducted over a set time period, and closed before
12126-588: The second episode of the Channel 4 anthology series Black Mirror , " Fifteen Million Merits ", which is a satire of entertainment shows, with her husband Charlie Brooker. An installation featuring extracts from the episode was installed at the Barbican Centre as part of the science-fiction themed exhibition "Into the Unknown" in 2017. On 14 October 2014, Huq was one of the speakers celebrating Ada Lovelace Day at
12255-404: The second series began to attract a larger audience share. While the second series attracted an average of over 8 million viewers during its broadcast, consecutive series increased these figures – peak audience figures for the fourth series' live final surpassed over 12.7 million viewers, achieving a share of 55% share of the terrestrial TV audience, while the sixth series achieved
12384-409: The second series of Pop Idol had been unworthy to earn victory compared to others who had participated. Cowell eventually made plans to devise a new televised competition, in which he would own the television rights and thus maintain control on decisions held on the new programme. In 2004, ITV secured the rights to broadcast The X Factor after Cowell approached them with his concept, despite
12513-483: The second stage in which they perform before a senior production member. Both of these stages are not filmed, but shots of the crowds waiting to audition are later spliced into audition episodes during final editing; the televised version can sometimes misrepresent the process in this fashion by implying that huge crowds all perform before the judges. Participants that make it to the third stage of auditions then conduct their performance and potential singing talent before
12642-455: The show (including winners and runners-up). By series 6 in 2009, it had seemingly become such a certainty that the X Factor winner would gain the Christmas number one slot every year that bookmakers William Hill were considering withdrawing from the 30-year tradition of betting on the outcome. However, hostility to the show's stranglehold on the Christmas number one slot from some quarters had prompted attempts to propel an alternative song to
12771-558: The show asked "Will Konnie Huq it up?" She was coached by Akala and performed at indigO2 . For two consecutive years she presented the Royal Shakespeare Company 's Live from Stratford upon Avon , a web project aimed at showing theatre productions in schools. In July 2012, the project web-streamed a performance of I, Cinna (The Poet) , a play by Tim Crouch about the poet in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar killed by
12900-495: The show being primarily a singing competition. Former judge Gary Barlow reportedly had an issue with joke acts when asked to mentor the Over 28s category in the ninth series , because "Gary doesn't like joke acts and the Overs category is often full of novelty acts." Despite controversially being part of the format, their non-involvement in the tenth series drew criticism, with Olly Mann of The Daily Telegraph arguing, "The fact that
13029-413: The show was Lucy Benjamin, mentored by Walsh. Xtra Bites is the second companion and spin-off show to The X Factor which replaced The Xtra Factor , although Xtra Bites is an online spin-off show which started airing in 2017. The show looks at all the action from the show including behind the scenes footage of the judges and interviews with contestants from the show. It is uploaded onto ITV Hub ,
13158-688: The show", having broken competition rules. As a result, it was announced that the four contestants eliminated by their mentors in week 1; 2 Shoes, Amelia Lily, James Michael and Jonjo Kerr; would be given the chance to face a public vote, with the winner of the vote being reinstated in the competition. Amelia Lily won the public vote with 48% of the overall total and replaced Cocozza in the competition. Act in Boys Act in Girls Act in Over 25s Act in Groups However, voting statistics revealed that Brookes received more votes than Brucknell which meant that if Walsh sent
13287-434: The show's 10th series, The X Factor – The Greatest Hits was released on 25 November 2013. The album features 34 songs from 21 of the show's contestants. The X Factor Songbook is a 60-song compilation album released 24 November 2014. The X Factor brand has also appeared on clothing, jewellery, perfume, make-up, toiletries, bedding, gifts, confectionery, soft drinks and pizzas. While The X Factor had attracted
13416-487: The show's YouTube channel, and the X Factor page on the Just Eat website. There were 13 episodes uploaded altogether for the first series, all presented by Becca Dudley. On 23 August 2018, it was announced that Xtra Bites would return for another series after a successful first series, with new presenters Dudley and Tinea Taylor. Vick Hope took over as host for the celebrity series in 2019. A second edition of Battle of
13545-418: The single. In September 2011, it was announced that Marks & Spencer would be The X Factor 's official fashion partner. On 2 October 2011, it was revealed that the 16 finalists would star in the retailer's 2011 Christmas advertisement. It is a one-minute advertisement that premiered during week 5 of the live shows. The finalists recorded a cover of the song " When You Wish upon a Star " to feature in
13674-458: The studio for a month, made the record quick, and thrown it out. It would have been the wrong thing to do." The success of Lewis's debut album Spirit ensured that the debut albums of future series winners (such as series 4 winner Leon Jackson ) would consist more of new material than of cover versions. Series 10 winner Sam Bailey , however, released her debut album of covers, The Power of Love , in March 2014, just three months after winning –
13803-413: The time of its cancellation, the programme's overall format and presentation was described as having gone 'slightly stale' towards the end, with no major appeal to television audience. Konnie Huq Kanak Asha " Konnie " Huq ( / ˈ h ʌ k / ; born 17 July 1975) is a British television and radio presenter, screenwriter and children's author. She became the longest-serving female presenter of
13932-426: The top two for the rest of the series, with the exceptions being the fourth, fifth and sixth live shows, which were beaten into third place by two episodes of Downton Abbey and the launch episode of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! , respectively. Despite a drop in ratings from the year before , it was the third most-watched series in the show's history. The X Factor (British TV series) The X Factor
14061-503: The trip. As a celebrity ambassador for the British Red Cross , Huq appeared in the 2009 video "If I had HIV, would you kiss me?" which was part of a campaign against the stigmatisation of people living with HIV and AIDS . She was an ambassador for Gold Challenge, part of the official mass participation legacy programme for the London 2012 Olympic Games . On 26 July 2010, Huq married writer and satirist Charlie Brooker at
14190-456: The year, until its final episode in December 2018. The majority of episodes were presented by Dermot O'Leary , with some exceptions: the first three series were hosted by Kate Thornton ; while Caroline Flack and Olly Murs hosted the show for the twelfth series. Each year of the competition saw contestants of all ages and backgrounds auditioning for a place, in hopes of proving that they had singing talent. Auditionees attempted to do so before
14319-455: Was a " Hannah Montana themed karaoke -style game show". Huq presented the seventh series of The Xtra Factor on ITV2 , replacing Holly Willoughby who was unable to fulfil the role due to her ongoing commitments at This Morning . In February 2011, Huq appeared in an episode of the ITV2 documentary programme Under Pressure , where she attempted to learn how to be a rapper . Trailers for
14448-500: Was accompanied by Sinitta in Barcelona, and Tulisa received help from Jessie J in Mykonos . At judges' houses each act performed two songs for their mentor and his/her guest judge, although only one song was mentioned and shown on the main show, with the other song shown on The Xtra Factor instead. Sian Phillips was originally selected for the judges' houses, but due to visa issues, she
14577-522: Was announced that The Xtra Factor would be axed after 13 years and would be replaced by an online show instead. The X Factor: Battle of the Stars was a celebrity special edition of The X Factor , which screened on ITV, starting on 29 May 2006 and lasting for eight consecutive nights. Pop Idol was intended to be broadcast in its place as Celebrity Pop Idol but was stopped shortly before transmission, when ITV selected The X Factor instead. Nine celebrity acts participated, singing live in front of
14706-475: Was assisted by Mark Speight before Simon Parkin took over. In 1997, several months before joining Blue Peter , Huq presented Channel Five 's early morning children's programme Milkshake! Huq presented the BBC children's television programme Blue Peter , starting on 1 December 1997. Early in her term as a presenter, she visited the village in Bangladesh where earlier generations of her family lived. In
14835-466: Was broadcast on 24 September 2011. It showed 191 acts attending a pre-bootcamp party at The Selsdon Park Hotel in Croydon, while the judges reviewed their auditions to see if there were some acts they wanted to cut before bootcamp started. They cut 39 acts, leaving 152. The acts were split into 30 groups in which to perform at Wembley Arena , and each group was given one of six songs by the judges: " You've Got
14964-431: Was broadcast on 25 September 2011. In that episode, the 61 remaining acts including the new groups were then given the task of learning one song, 'making it their own' and performing it in front of a live audience, the second time bootcamp was open to an audience (the first was in 2009). The judges then chose the final 32 acts for judges' houses, based on these performances. However, they chose only 31 acts, including three of
15093-507: Was devised by Sony Music executive Simon Cowell in 2004. The concept for The X Factor stemmed from his involvement as a judge on Pop Idol , another music talent competition that ITV aired from 2001 to 2003. While the programme had been massively successful in its own right, Cowell disliked the lack of control that he and the judges had on the contestant's progress – several individuals, including fellow judge Pete Waterman , agreed with him that Michelle McManus who won
15222-399: Was dropped from the 2011 USA season panel and Cowell gave her the option to return to the 2011 UK series judging panel. However, she later rejected his offer due to her unwillingness to judge the UK show without Cowell. On 30 May 2011, the judging line-up was confirmed as Louis Walsh , Barlow, Tulisa and Rowland. Barlow said that he was "extremely excited" to work on the show, and hoped to find
15351-540: Was effectively overtaken in the ratings battle by Strictly Come Dancing , especially for its live final showing the beginning of a steep ratings decline. From 2012 onwards, ratings of The X Factor went into sharp decline – the tenth series achieved an average viewing audience of 8.5 million viewers, much less than Strictly Come Dancing , with later series proving less popular on Saturday evenings compared to other programmes, such as Michael McIntyre's Big Show and Planet Earth II . By 2017, ratings for
15480-446: Was ejected from the competition. The four acts that did not face the public vote in week 1 and were eliminated by their mentors—Amelia Lily, James Michael, Jonjo Kerr, and 2 Shoes—faced the public vote and the act with the most votes would replace Cocozza. The winner of the vote was announced as Amelia Lily with 48.8% of the public vote. However, voting statistics revealed that Brucknell received more votes than Misha B which meant that if
15609-545: Was leaving The X Factor , with Osbourne revealed to be returning, but later clarifying it was for the tenth series only, with Barlow announcing during its live episodes that he would also be leaving The X Factor after the series' conclusion. In February 2014, Cowell announced his return as a judge for the eleventh series, as he worked to reinvent the programme. The panel saw him bring back Cheryl as Osbourne's replacement, while replacing Scherzinger with Spice Girls member Mel B . In March 2015, O'Leary announced that he
15738-403: Was not finalised. Following Minogue's announcement, it was reported that Tulisa from N-Dubz had been in talks with producers to take on a judging role to replace Cole. It was also suggested that Kelly Rowland , formerly of Destiny's Child , was in discussions to take a seat on the judging panel for Minogue's replacement. Although Cole briefly served as a judge on the 2011 USA season panel, she
15867-458: Was quitting the show in order to pursue other projects, and was replaced a month later by both Olly Murs and Caroline Flack as co-presenters, the latter having served as a backstage presenter since 2013. Walsh later left the programme in May 2015, after revealing that he had spent enough time on The X Factor . With Mel B not signing up for another series, both judges were replaced by Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora . In February 2016, Murs quit
15996-408: Was reintroduced for this series in addition to the premium rate telephone vote, but was not available during the final. During the fourth week of the live shows, it was announced that Rowland was unable to travel back from Los Angeles due to a throat infection. During the week, it was announced that Burke would replace her as a judge on the show. After Burke accepted the role as guest judge, she became
16125-423: Was reported that the group decided to make the change, despite no legal reason to do so, to avoid any difficulties for the charity. The name was subsequently changed to Little Mix. On 28 October 2011, Ashley Baptiste decided to leave The Risk. In an interview on the official website, he explained "I don't believe my future lies in a boyband and it's not fair on [the other members] Charlie, Derry and Andy to remain in
16254-547: Was the third contestant to be voted off, after her rendition of Kim Wilde 's Kids in America . She travelled to Uganda and met orphaned children on behalf of Comic Relief . Huq travelled to Afghanistan with the charity Afghanaid to film a BBC Lifelines appeal, which was aired on 21 September 2008, and the following year she travelled to India as part of Rotary International 's "Thanks for Life/End Polio Now" campaign. She administered polio vaccine to children as part of
16383-414: Was told that her contract would not be renewed. Matt Edmondson , Sandford, Kimberley Walsh , and series 6 contestant Stacey Solomon were all rumoured to be in the running, but it was confirmed on 31 May 2011 that Caroline Flack would co-present The Xtra Factor with series 6 runner-up Olly Murs . The first appeal for applicants for series 8 was broadcast during series 7 on 11 December 2010. For
16512-404: Was unable to travel to Miami and was thus replaced by Sarah Watson in the Girls category. Groups: Girls: Over 25s Boys: Tulisa appeared to eliminate both The Risk and The Keys at the end of the judges' houses stage, only to later call back three members of The Risk and one member of The Keys to form a new supergroup under the former group's name. Goldie Cheung was initially put through to
16641-433: Was won by Real Like You , a girl group composed of Jess Folley, Virginia Hampson, Luena Martinèz, Seorsia Jack, Halle Williams and Kellimarie Willis. As of June 2015 , the show has spawned a total of 35 number-one singles: 10 winners' singles (six of which have been the Christmas number one), four charity singles (one each by the finalists of series 5, 6, 7 and 8), and 21 other number-ones by contestants who have appeared on
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