The X Factor

The concept for The X Factor grew out of Simon Cowell's dissatisfaction with Pop Idol, where he felt he and the judges lacked control over contestants' progress; several people, including fellow judge Pete Waterman, agreed with him that Michelle McManus's Pop Idol win was undeserved compared to other contestants.

Cowell devised The X Factor so that he would own the television rights and retain control over decisions, and ITV secured the broadcast rights in 2004 despite a legal challenge from Simon Fuller, creator of Pop Idol, over perceived similarities between the two shows.

Kate Thornton was dropped as host in March 2007 and replaced by Dermot O'Leary, who was offered a two-year, £1 million contract and left the Big Brother franchise to focus on his new role.

Choreographer Brian Friedman briefly joined the judging panel for the fourth series but dropped out during auditions and was reassigned as creative director, prompting Louis Walsh to return to the panel.

During the eighth series, Kelly Rowland was unable to attend live episodes for medical reasons, so previous X Factor winner Alexandra Burke stood in for her as a judge.

In 2009, a Facebook campaign successfully pushed Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' to the Christmas number one spot in protest against the show's dominance, beating that year's X Factor winner Joe McElderry's single, which reached number one the following week instead.

At the 2005 British Comedy Awards, The X Factor won Best Comedy Entertainment Programme, prompting Simon Cowell to jokingly remark, 'We're not a comedy programme, we're a serious factual drama.'

By series 6 in 2009, an X Factor winner claiming the Christmas number one had become such a near-certainty that bookmaker William Hill considered withdrawing from its 30-year tradition of taking bets on the outcome.