The X Factor (UK series 1)

Applications and auditions

Prior to the audition phase, advertisements appeared on ITV, in newspapers, and trade magazines, promising that the new show would encourage groups, and while the emphasis was on singing, would welcome those who played instruments and wrote their own songs. Thus the show would differentiate itself from its predecessor, Pop Idol.

For the first episode of auditions, which aired on 4 September 2004, the judges visited Leeds and London. For the second episode, which aired on 11 September 2004, the judges visited Newcastle. The third episode aired on 18 September 2004, the fourth on 25 September 2004 and the fifth on 2 October 2004.

Bootcamp

After the initial auditions, each judge was randomly allocated a category:

• Simon Cowell: 25 and Overs
• Sharon Osbourne: 16-24s
• Louis Walsh: Groups

Each judge chose twelve acts from their category to go through to round two — bootcamp. After bootcamp, each judge selected five acts to progress to round three — "judges' homes". The bootcamp episodes aired on 9 and 16 October 2004.

In this round, the 15 acts (five for each judge) went to the "homes" of their respective judges, where they were interviewed and performed again. Each judge then chose three acts to go through to the finals (making a total of nine finalists, unlike later series, which would feature 12/16). Unlike future series of the show, in series one the judges actually took their contestants to their real houses. In future, the locations that the contestants were sent to were mostly abroad and considered more 'glamorous'. Also, in earlier series of the show the judges were assisted at this stage by a whole supporting panel compared to later series where to have just one assistant has become the norm. Additionally, the supporting panels mainly consisted of people who had credentials such as vocal coaches and record producers as opposed to later series where helpers at this stage were most world-famous singers.

Format

The finals consisted of two live shows each Saturday evening. For the first five weeks each act performed once in the first show, after which the public voted for the act that they wanted to remain in the show. In the later results show, the two acts with the fewest votes were revealed. These two acts then had to sing again before the three judges decided who was eliminated.

The format changed in the sixth week: each act performed twice in the first show (with the judges offering their opinions after the second songs), and reprised one of their songs in the results show. The act with the fewest public votes was eliminated at the end of the second show, with the judges no longer having a say in who left.

The live shows started on 23 October 2004 and ended on 11 December 2004.

Results summary

Colour key

^1 Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
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Live show details

Ratings

This series achieved an average of 7.4 million viewers per episode.

Cheating

It was reported in tabloid newspapers that the show's audition process was unfair after Walsh was accused of cheating. He was thought to have advised the group Co-Ed on things such as song choices, which caused controversy after it was revealed that he had actually previously managed Co-Ed after they appeared on the Irish version of Popstars in 2001. Around the same time, footage of Cowell and Osbourne coaching contestants to argue back to the judges was being auctioned over the Internet.^[3]

Claims of Rigging

Prior to the first live show, Osbourne accused Cowell of "rigging" the show by editing footage to make the contestants in his category more appealing to viewers.^[4] Osbourne attracted criticism again following the final in December 2004 when she was forced to make an apology after attracting what Cowell referred to as "record complaints" over an outburst by Osbourne in which she criticised eventual winner Steve Brookstein. This left her place on the show uncertain,^[5] although she returned for the second series in 2005.

G4

Despite finishing as runners-up, G4 have since referred to The X Factor as "just panto".^[6]