The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in September 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September through to December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia’s Thames and Cowell’s production company SYCOtv. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and TV3 in Ireland, with spin-off behind-the-scenes show The Xtra Factor screened on ITV2. It is the originator of the international The X Factor franchise. The X Factor was devised as a replacement for the highly successful Pop Idol, which was put on indefinite hiatus after its second series, largely because Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute. The “X Factor” of the title refers to the undefinable “something” that makes for star quality.
The original judging panel was Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Dannii Minogue joined the panel in series 4, and Cheryl Cole replaced Osbourne in series 5 after her departure. After series 7, Cowell and Cole both left to judge the American version of the show whilst Minogue left the show due to commitments on Australia’s Got Talent. Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos and Gary Barlow then joined Walsh on the judging panel for series 8, though Rowland announced she would not return for series 9 and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. Osbourne later returned in 2013, replacing Contostavlos. Since 2007, the show has been presented by Dermot O’Leary, who replaced original host Kate Thornton. The show is split into a series of phases, following the contestants from auditions through to the grand finale. In the original televised audition phase of the show, contestants sang in an audition room in front of just the judges. From series 6 onwards, auditionees sing on a stage in front of the judges and a live audience. Successful auditionees go through to “bootcamp” and then to “judges’ houses”, where judges narrow down the acts in their category down to three or four acts to mentor for the live shows, where the public vote for their favourite acts following weekly live performances by the contestants.
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Two talented chefs go head-to-head for the chance to Beat Bobby Flay. To get to Bobby the chefs must first face off against each other, creating a spectacular dish with a secret ingredient of Bobby’s choice. Judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Jeff Mauro know Bobby’s strengths and his weaknesses. Their goal: Pick the chef who has the skills to take down Bobby Flay in his own arena. The winning chef gets to challenge Bobby with his or her surprise signature dish. If Bobby goes down, the winner can tell the world, “I beat Bobby Flay!”
A nostalgic throwback to the original series where TV celebrities blended athleticism with hilarious antics. The 10-episode summer event pits teams of current and classic TV stars from multiple eras and different genres against one another in a variety of athletic games.
Love Island will see a stunning cast engage in the ultimate game of love, as they land in a sunshine paradise in search of passion and romance. Each of the glamorous members of the public will live like celebrities in a luxury villa, but in order to stay there, they will not only have to win over the hearts of each other, but also the hearts of the public. Can true love win out on Love Island or is it all a game? Caroline Flack, introduces us to the cast of hot, young singles who have come looking for a summer of love and romance. The winners will leave the island with £50,000 in six weeks’ time but to get their hands on it the singles will need to go the distance.
Couples finally meet their fiancé upon prison release. Once the bars are gone, will their love survive after lockup on the rocky road to the altar? Will the inmates ditch their mate as they face shocking “firsts”, fights & family drama! Is it true love or just a con?
Total Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week, 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large assault courses that participants must cross.
Total Wipeout is a licensed version of Wipeout, the Endemol show that originated in the United States in 2008, with the name slightly altered to avoid confusion with the BBC version of the earlier game show of the same name.
On 29 March 2012, BBC confirmed that they are to axe Total Wipeout after its sixth series. The Daily Mirror reported that a BBC spokesperson said: “After four very successful series of Total Wipeout, and one series of Winter Wipeout, the BBC has taken the decision that the next series, due to transmit later this year, will be the last.” The remaining 10 episodes from Series 5 began airing on 18 August 2012 and ended the show’s 4-year run on BBC One before 2013.
The American version of this unscripted cooking series pits celebrity duos against each other as they cook and critique each other’s food, in Hollywood homes. The teams will take turns hosting intimate dinner parties with a menu designed to impress their rival competitors and two professional chef judges.
These new little ladies turn it up wherever they go, especially with club promoter Emily Fernandez leading the charge with identical twins, Andrea and Amanda Salinas, Bri Barlup, Ashley “Minnie” Ross and Tiffany “Monie” Cashette. The drama heats up with these friends as catfights erupt among their feisty personalities and power hierarchies. Like many friends, they deal with problems with their parents, fights over men and one little lady even has a baby on the way. When it comes down to it, this clique is not afraid to get into it with each other, but together they face the daily challenges that come with being a little person while proving they are the true queens of Atlanta.
MasterChef Australia is a Logie Award-winning Australian competitive cooking game show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by Shine Australia and screens on Network Ten. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston serve as the show’s main judges. Journalist Sarah Wilson hosted the first series, however her role was dropped at the end of the series.
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