The X Factor is back, but not as we know it! This year we have the 'Celebrity' version and the 'All Stars'.
Starting with the Celebrity version: The first round has already taken place at Simon Cowell's home in Malibu. Judging the celebrities are Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh. The live shows will take place in London where the celebrities compete to win a life changing record deal.
THE OVERS
Martin Bashir
Martin began working as a journalist in 1986 but is most well-known from his BBC interview with Princess Diana for Panorama in 2003. He has won several awards for his work, including three BAFTA nominations and the RTS Journalist of the Year award in 1996.
Jenny Ryan
Jenny is one of the Chasers from ITV’s The Chase. Her knowledge has seen her compete on The Weakest Link, University Challenge and Mastermind. She initially was hired to write the questions for The Chase, then later became one of the Chasers in 2015, after fellow Chaser, Anne Hagerty recommended her.
Victoria Ekanoye
Victoria is best known for playing Angie Appleton in Coronation Street. She has also appeared in The Lion King in the West End as well as touring the US, South America and Europe in The Blues Brothers production. Victoria is currently filming for a new CBBC and Netflix show ‘The Worst Witch’.
Rikki Lake
Emmy award winner, Ricki Lake is an American actress and talk show host, best known for The Ricki Lake Show which lasted 11 years. Her on-screen breakthrough began when she played the lead role of Tracey Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray, since then she has seen a lot of TV and film success, as well as being the Executive Producer of a documentary and the co-author of two books.
THE UNDERS
Megan McKenna
Megan rose to fame after appearing on Ex on The Beach in 2015, she went on to feature on TOWIE for five series, as well as Celebrity Big Brother and Celebs Go Dating. Since her reality TV fame, she has released her own clothing range, make up range and released her autobiography ‘Mouthy’. Megan’s dream has always been music, and left TOWIE to be able to put 100% into her music career. She has released her own music for the past two years and had two sell-out shows in the UK.
Olivia Olson
Olivia is best known for playing the role of Joanna in Love Actually in 2003, where she sung ‘All I want for Christmas is you’. Olivia took a step back from TV and Film for a while to focus on her school work but has since done animated voice acting for kids’ TV including Phineas and Ferb on Disney. Olivia has been writing original music and singing since a young age and released an album in 2018.
Kevin McHale
Kevin is an American actor, best known for the role of Artie in Glee. As well as acting, he has also co-hosted the Teen Choice Awards with Demi Lovato, and currently hosts a podcast called Showmance whilst focusing on perusing a solo music career. Kevin’s first foray into music was in pop boy band, NTL, who opened for The Pussycat Dolls on their tour. Since then he has released solo EP’s and wants to continue performing on a bigger scale and eventually have a music label of his own.
Hayley Hasselhoff
Hayley is an American actress and model, and daughter of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach. In 2010 she landed the leading role in TV series Huge, as well as featuring in her family’s reality TV series The Hasselhoff’s. In addition to acting she has modelled since the age of 14 and is now recognised for her efforts in promoting body positivity as a plus size model. She has modelled in New York Fashion Week and she recently released a plus sized clothing collection in the UK and features as ITV’s This Morning’s fashion expert around body positivity.
Jonny Labey
Jonny is a British actor best known for his role as Paul Coker in EastEnders. Following his character’s death on the show, he went on to win ITV’s Dance Dance Dance in 2017 with his girlfriend at the time, he then went on to tour with Strictly Ballroom as the lead role. Jonny wants to show people he is more than just a character from EastEnders and is in it to win it!
THE GROUPS
V5
V5 are international social media influencers, made up of Sofia, Alondra, Laura, Wendii and Natalie. They have a combined social media following of 11 million followers, with over 250 million channel views on YouTube
Try Star
Thom Evans, Ben Foden and Levi Davis are all professional rugby players. Thom is a former Scottish international rugby union player and model, although his rugby career was cut short due to a serious neck injury. Levi Davis has represented England internationally at under 18 and under 19s level, and now plays for Bath United. Ben Foden currently plays for Rugby United New York but has also played for England internationally.
The Islanders
Eyal, Samira, Wes and Zara all shot to fame in 2018 when they appeared on the fourth series of ITV2’s Love Island. They’ve all since followed their own journey whilst remaining the best of friends. Wes reached the Dancing on Ice final in 2019, whilst Eyal has been snapped up by numerous modelling agencies as well as appearing on E4's Celebs Go Dating. Samira has performed on the West End, featuring in Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast, whilst Zara has worked on a number of projects that help engage young people into politics, a real passion of hers before Love Island
Cole and Edwards
Brendan Cole and Jeremy Edwards have been good friends for over 10 years having met at a Capital Radio event. Brendan is a professional ballroom dancer who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing for 15 years and has since appeared as a judge on New Zealand’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and as a guest judge on Britain’s Next Top Model. Jeremy is best known for playing heartthrob Kurt Benson in Hollyoaks. After leaving in 1999, Jeremy joined BBC’s medical drama Holby City.
Max and Harvey
Young duo Max and Harvey are 16-year-old Berkshire based twin brothers who rose to fame when a clip of them singing Justin Bieber went viral on app Tik Tok, earning them the number one UK act on the platform and helping them to build up a diehard fanbase which has since risen to a combined social following of over eight million.
Confirmation of the screening date is yet to be announced, although it is expected to start on Saturday 12th October.
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