The X Factor (UK)
Genre: Reality, Family, Music
Year: 2012
Country: United Kingdom
Runtime: 60 Min
Producer: Andrew Llinares, Michelle Langer
Cast: Dermot O'Leary, Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole
.: Plot :.
The X Factor airs in the United Kingdom on the ITV1 network and was created by Simon Cowell. The show is a reality series to find new musical talent from within the United Kingdom.
The show was originally hosted by Kate Thornton and the three judges were Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Each judge is in charge of a different section of singers on the show. The judges do not know what section of the competition they will be in charge of until the audition process has finished. Each judge then has to pick four acts to take forward to the live section of the show. Each week the two acts with the lowest amount of public votes have to sing again in a final showdown after which the judges decide who should be eliminated. Once there are only five acts left remaining it becomes left to the public to decide who should go.
Series one was won by Steve Brookstein while series two was won by Shayne Ward. The third series was won by Leona Lewis making her the first female winner of the show. All three of them went on to have number one hits in the United Kingdom record charts. When the show returned in 2007 for a fourth series Dermot O'Leary replaced Kate Thornton as host. Dannii Minogue joined the show as a fourth judge and Leon Jackson was crowned the series winner. The series returned in 2008 for a fifth series with Cheryl Cole replacing Sharon Osbourne on the judging panel. The series was won by Alexandra Burke. The sixth series in 2009 was won by Joe McElderry. The series will return in 2010 for a seventh series.
