The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in September 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September through to December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia’s Thames and Cowell’s production company SYCOtv. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and TV3 in Ireland, with spin-off behind-the-scenes show The Xtra Factor screened on ITV2. It is the originator of the international The X Factor franchise. The X Factor was devised as a replacement for the highly successful Pop Idol, which was put on indefinite hiatus after its second series, largely because Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute. The “X Factor” of the title refers to the undefinable “something” that makes for star quality.
The original judging panel was Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Dannii Minogue joined the panel in series 4, and Cheryl Cole replaced Osbourne in series 5 after her departure. After series 7, Cowell and Cole both left to judge the American version of the show whilst Minogue left the show due to commitments on Australia’s Got Talent. Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos and Gary Barlow then joined Walsh on the judging panel for series 8, though Rowland announced she would not return for series 9 and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. Osbourne later returned in 2013, replacing Contostavlos. Since 2007, the show has been presented by Dermot O’Leary, who replaced original host Kate Thornton. The show is split into a series of phases, following the contestants from auditions through to the grand finale. In the original televised audition phase of the show, contestants sang in an audition room in front of just the judges. From series 6 onwards, auditionees sing on a stage in front of the judges and a live audience. Successful auditionees go through to “bootcamp” and then to “judges’ houses”, where judges narrow down the acts in their category down to three or four acts to mentor for the live shows, where the public vote for their favourite acts following weekly live performances by the contestants.
All Episodes
You May Also Like
In this reality competition, craft makers from all walks of life take on a series of projects. Over the course of each episode, the contestants must tackle a different theme, hand-making items in different disciplines — the difficulty of which increases with every episode until a winner is crowned.
In the first-ever competitive cannabis cooking show, two chefs prepare mouthwatering marijuana-infused dishes for a panel of very chill celeb judges.
From friendships to romance, Judge Geordie will see Vicky Pattison drive around the country solving Britain’s relationship problems.
Illusionists Penn & Teller throw down the gauntlet to aspiring magicians to perform their most mystifying trick – and fool Penn and Teller. Penn & Teller have no prior knowledge of either the performers or the planned trick. They sit in the audience just like everyone else, watching every move the guest magicians make. If any illusionist fools the professionals, they win a five star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller’s world famous show at the Rio Hotel & Casino.
We’re traveling to some of the most exquisite beach destinations around to help buyers search for their dream homes on the sand. Follow the entire process from start to finish as each episode introduces a prospective buyer and agent and takes us along for the entire journey of their search. And for these Beach Hunters, it’s all about location, location, location.
Bondi Rescue is an Australian factual television program which is broadcast on Channel Ten. The programme, which has aired since 2006, follows the daily lives and routines of the Waverley Council professional lifeguards who patrol Bondi Beach.
Bondi Rescue was first broadcast in 2006. A spin-off, set in Bali, Indonesia, also briefly screened in 2008. Bondi Rescue is also broadcast in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Hong Kong and worldwide on National Geographic Adventure.
The show was created and produced by part-time lifeguard Ben Davies. It is narrated by British-Australian presenter and host Andrew Günsberg.
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week, 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large assault courses that participants must cross.
Total Wipeout is a licensed version of Wipeout, the Endemol show that originated in the United States in 2008, with the name slightly altered to avoid confusion with the BBC version of the earlier game show of the same name.
On 29 March 2012, BBC confirmed that they are to axe Total Wipeout after its sixth series. The Daily Mirror reported that a BBC spokesperson said: “After four very successful series of Total Wipeout, and one series of Winter Wipeout, the BBC has taken the decision that the next series, due to transmit later this year, will be the last.” The remaining 10 episodes from Series 5 began airing on 18 August 2012 and ended the show’s 4-year run on BBC One before 2013.
