The X Factor (British TV series)

The X Factor is a British television programme, in which ordinary people who want to be singers compete for a recording contract and a cash prize. It is shown from August-December each year on Saturdays and Sundays on the channel ITV. It replaced Pop Idol by Simon Cowell in 2004.

The X Factor
Genre	Reality television
Created by	Simon Cowell
Presented by	Kate Thornton Dermot O'Leary Caroline Flack Olly Murs
Judges	Simon Cowell Sharon Osbourne Louis Walsh Dannii Minogue Brian Friedman Cheryl Gary Barlow Kelly Rowland Tulisa Nicole Scherzinger Mel B Nick Grimshaw Rita Ora Ayda Field Louis Tomlinson Robbie Williams
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Running time	60–150 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	4 September 2004 (2004-09-04) – 2 December 2018 (2018-12-02)

Hosts

The show started being presented by Kate Thornton, but she left in Series 3 (2006.) Ben Shephard was hoping to present, but his offer was turned down. Instead, Dermot O'Leary took over in Series 4 (2007) and presented for 8 series, until his departure from the show in Series 10. Olly Murs and Caroline Flack became the first duo to host the show, but only lasted one season, mainly because they were very unpopular with the public. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the 13th series and has continued to present the show since.

Winners

Year	Series	Winner	Runner-up
2004	Series 1	Steve Brookstein	G4
2005	Series 2	Shayne Ward	Andy Abraham
2006	Series 3	Leona Lewis	Ray Quinn
2007	Series 4	Leon Jackson	Rhydian Roberts
2008	Series 5	Alexandra Burke	JLS
2009	Series 6	Joe McElderry	Olly Murs
2010	Series 7	Matt Cardle	Rebecca Ferguson
2011	Series 8	Little Mix	Marcus Collins
2012	Series 9	James Arthur	Jahméne Douglas
2013	Series 10	Sam Bailey	Nicholas McDonald
2014	Series 11	Ben Haenow	Fleur East
2015	Series 12	Louisa Johnson	Reggie n Bollie
2016	Series 13	Matt Terry	Saara Aalto
2017	Series 14	Rak-Su	Grace Davies
2018	Series 15	Dalton Harris	Scarlett Lee

Judges

Year	Judges
2004	Louis Walsh	Sharon Osbourne	Simon Cowell
2005
2006
2007				Dannii Minogue
2008		Cheryl
2009
2010
2011		Tulisa	Gary Barlow	Kelly Rowland
2012				Nicole Scherzinger
2013		Sharon Osbourne
2014		Cheryl	Simon Cowell	Mel B
2015	Nick Grimshaw			Rita Ora
2016	Louis Walsh	Sharon Osbourne		Nicole Scherzinger
2017
2018	Louis Tomlinson	Ayda Field		Robbie Williams

Spin-offs

Xtra Factor

Judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole during filming of the London auditions for series 7

The Xtra Factor was the spin-off show of the X Factor UK. It is broadcast on British Television channel ITV2. The hosts of the spin-off are well known for hosting for short periods of time. The first Xtra Factor host was Ben Shephard, and he quit in Series 3, because his offer of being the main presenter (after Kate Thornton's departure) was turned down by the show's producers. Fearne Cotton then hosted for the fourth series. Holly Willoughby, Cotton's close friend, replaced her during the following two series, but was replaced by Blue Peter former presenter, Konnie Huq in 2010, however, Konnie lasted only one series. Olly Murs and Caroline Flack became the first duo to host the Xtra Factor in Series 8, and they presented together for two seasons. Olly then left in order to focus on his music career. He was replaced by Matt Richardson, but then Caroline and Matt announced their leave. Sarah-Jane Crawford hosted for only the 11th season. The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes teamed up with Melvin Odoom to present the Xtra Factor's twelfth season. Matt Edmondson and Rylan Clark-Neal presented the thirteenth and final series^[1][2]

On 18 January 2017, it was announced that The Xtra Factor would be axed after 13 years and would be replaced by an online show instead.^[3]

Celebrity version

In 2006, there was a celebrity version titled The X Factor: Battle of the Stars. It saw nine celebrity acts perform over the course of 8 episodes. The winner (Lucy Benjamin) received money for her chosen charity as a prize. The judges were Simon, Sharon and Louis. In 2019, there was a similar version returned titled The X Factor: Celebrity. The judges were Simon, Louis and Nicole.

Winners of the celebrity version of The X Factor

Year	Title	Winner	Episodes	Contestants
2006	The X Factor: Battle of the Stars	Lucy Benjamin	8	9
2019	The X Factor: Celebrity	Megan McKenna		15

Judges of the celebrity version of The X Factor

Year	Title	Judges
2006	The X Factor: Battle of the Stars	Louis Walsh	Sharon Osbourne	Simon Cowell
2019	The X Factor: Celebrity		Nicole Scherzinger

The X Factor: The Band

The X Factor: The Band was a one-time special edition of the show. It was a version with the aim of creating a new popular band. The show had four episodes. The girl group Real Like You won the live final. The show was judged by Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and former winner Leona Lewis.