The X Factor

Digested week: May Sharon Osbourne and Amanda Holden’s spat keep on giving | Lucy Mangan

They might not be Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but the X Factor judges’ ding-dong over Simon Cowell is a joy

Lucy Mangan

19, Apr, 2024 @11:00 AM

‘For 11 years I’ve kept it quiet’: Rylan on his breakdown, comeback – and the hidden story of The X Factor

When the broadcaster first burst on to British TV on the reality singing show, he was derided and mocked by the press. It wasn’t until a decade later that anyone learned what had actually been happening behind the scenes

Simon Hattenstone

06, Feb, 2024 @5:00 AM

Dalton’s Dream review – the troubled life of an X Factor winner

This documentary follows Dalton Harris whose storming 2018 triumph left him fearing failure and facing homophobic abuse, especially in his native Jamaica

Peter Bradshaw

30, Jan, 2024 @7:00 AM

‘I would have ice-skating parties to UK garage’: Leona Lewis’s honest playlist

The singer’s life was changed by Over the Rainbow, and the first song she heard was on a gravy ad, but what is she doing playing her baby Snoop tunes?

As told to Rich Pelley

20, Nov, 2023 @7:00 AM

Lucy Spraggan reveals she was sexually attacked during X Factor

Musician says she felt let down by ITV after assault by hotel porter that has had lasting impact

Nadia Khomami and Joe Stone

15, Jul, 2023 @7:20 AM

‘I was terrified of being known as the girl who was attacked while on The X Factor’: Lucy Spraggan on rape, recovery and reality TV

In 2012, she was a breakout star of the singing competition. Then she suddenly disappeared from the show. For the first time she speaks about what led her to leave, how she feels she was let down – and the surprising person who held the key to her recovery

Joe Stone

15, Jul, 2023 @6:00 AM

Fleur East looks back: ‘My mum loved to put me in the most flamboyant dresses: big poofy sleeves and shoulder pads’

The singer recalls her shy childhood, how she ended up on X Factor twice, and finding her own voice

Interview by Harriet Gibsone

20, May, 2023 @11:00 AM

Fleur East: ‘I need to cherish every moment’

The singer, 35, tells Nick McGrath about her musical childhood, supportive husband, rising above rejection and life after The X Factor

Nick McGrath

18, Mar, 2023 @2:00 PM

Crazy, embarrassing, sad – but funny: how I finally embraced my X Factor humiliation | Emily Wilson

I spent 10 years burying the shame of being a failed contestant on the US version of the show. Then a 15-year-old helped me see it differently, says comedian Emily Wilson

Emily Wilson

13, Mar, 2023 @8:00 AM

Olly Murs looks back: ‘Our house was like Witham’s Got Talent, without the talent’

The singer and presenter on staying true to his Essex roots, X Factor fame and losing his friend Caroline Flack

Harriet Gibsone

03, Dec, 2022 @12:00 PM

How Emily Wilson turned her teenage X Factor humiliation into comedy gold

A brutal take-down on the TV talent show led Emily Wilson into therapy. A decade later, she has turned her grim experience into award-winning standup

Michael Segalov

27, Nov, 2022 @3:00 PM

Rylan Clark looks back: ‘I wanted people to notice me. After being bullied it was an act of defiance’

TV presenter Rylan Clark looks back at his X Factor audition and the time a school bully wanted a selfie