The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent. The contestants are aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September until December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and simulcast on TV3 in Ireland. "X Factor" refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The series consists of auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses, several weeks of live shows, semi-finals and the final. The series had a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor, which aired directly after the main show on ITV2. This lasted from series 1 until series 13, when it was cancelled by ITV in January 2017. It is replaced by an online spin-off show Xtra Bites exclusively on the ITV Hub.
| Genre | Reality competition |
| Created by | Simon Cowell |
| Directed by | Phil Heyes |
| Creative director(s) | Brian Friedman, Brian Burke, Elizabeth Honan, Jerry Reeve, Mark "Swany" Swanhart, Ashley Evans, Antony Ginandjar |
| 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 |
| Voices of | Peter Dickson, Redd Pepper |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 14 |
| No. of episodes | 417 (as of 3 December 2017) |
| Executive producer(s) | Simon Cowell, Richard Holloway, Beth Hart, Mark Sidaway, Cheryl |
| Running time | 60–150 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Syco Entertainment, Thames (2012–), Talkback Thames (2004–11) |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | HDTV: 1080i (2010–), SDTV: 16:9 (2009–) |
| Related shows | The Xtra Factor |
About The X Factor (UK)
Original version of The X Factor franchise with the longest tenured judges including Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Ann Tweedy and Gary Barlow.
Achievement of The X Factor (UK)
The seventh series of the show introduced audiences to the soon-to-be pop sensation band One Direction, who came in third place on the series.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor (UK TV series) Category.. Television series by FremantleMedia.
Latest information about The X Factor (UK) updated on July 28 2021.
