Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (that is, somewhere around 2004-2011), Saturday nightsbelonged to The X Factor. It was the ultimate event television, so much so that as a nation we probably took our wee-and-tea pitstops in tandem with the ad breaks. The closest you get to the collective viewing experience today, in the era of on-demand streaming, is Love Island__, the Euros final and, last year, the government's 5pm coronavirus briefings (less fun).
But The X Factor’s star power inevitably dwindled – much like many of the one-hit wonder former winners – and last week it was announced that, 17 years after it debuted on British screens, the reality TV show had taken its final bow. Shocked? Not really. You too might struggle to name a winner post 2011’s Little Mix (although 2012’s James Arthur might illicit a jolt of recognition if you passed him in the street. Where do I know him from?).
But back to The X Factor's golden age. The compulsive way we consumed it was down to myriad elements, a sort of Frankenstein of moreish reality TV: it had majorly cringe and genuinely heart-warming moments, pyrotechnic productions and probably the most memorable voiceover ever, it had spats at the judging table (see Sharon Osborne chucking a glass of water over Louis Walsh) and unfeasibly A-list cameos (Rihanna and Matt Cardle, Alexandra Burke sobbing her way through a duet with Beyoncé. Beyoncé!). We could even forgive The X Factor for giving songs by Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan a pop-over, because it gave the world Harry Styles. Amen, and thank you.
What The X Factor also gave us was glamour – and nobody delivered that better than Cheryl Cole, a judge for three seasons between 2008 and 2010. She joined the show as a judge six years after triumphing as one-fifth of Girls Aloud in predecessor show Popstars: The Rivals and two years after becoming bona fide WAG-royalty at Baden-Baden in 2006 (later returning as Cheryl Fernandez-Versini for the 11th series in 2014).
Week after week, you could count on Cheryl to serve up a particular blend of big-effort, all-in glam. Her live show outfits were lapped up by viewers and tabloids with vigour. Never mind who was singing what each week, what would Cheryl wear? In her X Factor arsenal were opulent metallic gowns and lavishly embellished mini dresses, cheeky cut outs and plunging necklines, super high-heels and ultra-bouncy hair. She made no play to appear louche or cool, this was Main Stage dressing at its flashiest, gaudiest, campest and most brilliantly look-at-me served via labels like Zuhair Murad, Julien Macdonald and Roberto Cavalli.
Cheryl clearly loved fashion (and fashion loved her back, she scored two Vogue covers, in 2009 and 2010) – so much so that it didn’t matter at all to her that Simon Cowell would mock her outfits (for example, not very originally, dubbing her “Kermit” when she worn a green, ruffled Lanvin gown in 2014), she’d just up the ante again the next week (would you dare mess with a woman who wore a slashed trouser military costume as she did to perform Fight for this Love in 2009?).
X Factor era Cheryl was having fun with clothes; she was getting dressed on her own terms and loving every second of it. And now, over a decade later, as out-out dressing returns to the agenda this summer, what better way to show the world your own X factor than by doing the same yourself? There might not be a booming voiceover to announce your arrival at the pub - but no worries, your outfit will do it for you.
SEE: Where Are The Winners Of X Factor Now?
1 of 15Steve Brookstein, series one, 2004
Things went downhill super quickly after the high of winning the first ever series of The X Factor, and Steve's still bitter… even now, 16 years later. He's written a book about it called Getting Over The X. Come on now Steve, perhaps you should give it a read.He did release an album in 2014, and just to show he's moved on he called it Forgotten Man. It didn't chart.
2 of 15Shayne Ward, series two, 2005
It's easy to forget Corrie's Aidan Connor was actually; Shayne Ward from The X Factor in a disguise. Alright, that should be: in a new job. He even won Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards in January 2016, but he left the soap in 2018.
3 of 15Leona Lewis, series three, 2006
You probably won't remember Leona Lewis as she hasn't done much since. Jokes. Leona's a superstar. A superstar that loves animals. A lot.She loves dogs. She released a single with Diane Warren called We Are All (Looking For Home) in support of a dog charity. She loves cats. Well, she starred in Cats on Broadway which is kind of the same thing. But she really loves horses. The star has featured in Horse and Hound in the past, too.
4 of 15Leon Jackson, series four, 2007
Soulful Scotsman Leon Jackson clinched the Christmas Number One in 2007 but faded fast and was dropped by the label shortly after.
5 of 15Alexandra Burke, series five, 2008
Alexandra Burke's winning single was a cover of Leonard Cohen's classic Hallelujah, which broke records on it's way to Number One. And Alex has had quite the career since; she's released three albums and had an incredibly successful time on the West End, starring in musicals The Bodyguard and Sister Act. We also can't forget when said she brought the phrase 'elephant in the room' over to the UK from America,
6 of 15Joe McElderry, series six, 2009
In 2009 it was Joe McElderry who won The X Factor but it wasn't him who won the Christmas Number One. It was the anti-X-Factor campaign who scored the top slot with Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name Of. Chin up Joe, you've done alright. You've even sung for the Queen. He has sung in a touring version of Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat and did charity cycle rides.
7 of 15Matt Cardle, series seven, 2010
Matt Cardle might be most famous for Harry Styles whispering into his ear, 'think how much pussy you're going to get', but he did release four albums after the show. It was also claimed that, before she met Prince Harry, Meghan Markle even slid into his DMs. There was also a massive lawsuit filed against none other than Ed Sheeran in 2016, claiming Sheeran's huge hit Photographs was a carbon copy of Cardle's Amazing. It turns out it was the songwriters who filed it, and Cardle's distanced himself… it looked murky and in 2017 Ed settled the £16million lawsuit.
8 of 15Little Mix, series eight, 2011
Well, where to start with these ladies. As one of the most famous groups this country has ever produced, they hardly need any explanation. They are now working on their own reality show to find the next big music group, called The Search.
9 of 15James Arthur, series nine, 2012
James Arthur has had a rocky road since winning the show - like so many of the winners – but he did seem to bring it on himself. After dropping a very dodgy tune with homophobic tones, iTunes offered refunds on his debut album and Syco dropped him.Then he released Say You Won't Let Go, Syco took him back and EVERYTHING changed.
10 of 15Sam Bailey, series 10, 2013
Bexley's Sam Bailey hit the Christmas number one slot with her winning single Skyscraper and toured with Queen Bey in the UK leg of her The Mrs Carter Show World Tour. Then, in what seems like a natural next step for The X Factor winners, she took a role in a popular West End musical. In this case it was Chicago.
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11 of 15Ben Haenow, series 11, 2014
We can almost do this as a tickbox list now. Christmas number one: tick. Record breaking sales figures: no tick. Duet with big name real celeb: tick (it was Kelly Clarkson). Album released: tick. Didn't make top twenty: tick. Dropped by Syco: tick.
12 of 15Louisa Johnson, series 12, 2015
2015's winner Louisa has had mixed success…her single charted the lowest of all the winners' singles of all of the time, only managing number 12 in the Christmas singles chart. Cripes.Her follow up Tears, with Clean Bandit, did much better by reaching number five. She left Syco in 2018, but she still has 872,000 Instagram followers. Nice.
13 of 15Matt Terry, series 13, 2016
Matt Terry went on to win the 2016 series with Ed Sheeran-penned winner's single When Christmas Comes Around. He then teamed up with Enrique Iglesias and actual Sean Paul on the Spanglish remix of Subeme La Radio before releasing his proper debut single Sucker for You.Oh, and he made an appearance on Celebrity First Dates in support of Stand Up To Cancer. In June 2018, Terry was dropped by RCA Records. So he did what X Factor stars do best, and moved into musicals. The next month, he made his acting debut in the UK production of Madagascar – The Musical. In 2019, he returned to the Madagascar musical as Alex the Lion.
14 of 15Rak-Su, series 14, 2017
Rak-Su beat Grace Davies in an epic final showdown on 2017's X Factor. They were even the first group to write their own winner's single with Dimelo, which featured Naughty Boy and Wyclef Jean. Since Myles jetted to Australia for I'm A Celeb in 2019. But the lads are still together, and plan to release their next single Palm Tree later this week as independent artists.
15 of 15Dalton Harris, series 15, 2018
Louis Tomlinson's lad Dalton Harris beat Scarlett Lee to the 2018 crown and released a duet with James Arthur; a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's The Power of Love. He went quiet for a while, as the Jamaican singer revealed he received disgusting death threats after rumours spread he was dating fellow contestant Brendan Murray. However, the singer released new single, Cry, in January this year.