Secrets from the X Factor launch

Posted by Boyd on Thursday 16 Aug 2007

Filed under: Dermot O'Leary, Fearne Cotton, Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell

The X Factor starts again this Saturday, thank the Lord. So, to get us in the mood, ITV held a swanky press event at London's swish Mayfair Hotel yesterday. They managed to get all the judges except Sharon (busy doing America's Got Talent in LA) in the same room together, along with new host Dermot and Fearne, who's doing Xtra Factor on ITV2. And they all seemed remarkably jolly. After watching the dazzlingly entertaining first episode, it's no wonder. They know the show is better than ever. Afer five minutes you'll forget that Dermot hasn't been hosting the show for the last three years, and Simon seems sharper than ever, skewering the assorted misfits and delusional wannabes with especially pertinent observations. Look out in particular for a 79-year-old lady who mimics musical instruments with her mouth and doesn't actually sing songs. And in the show's fine tradition of ridiculous group names (Journey South anyone?), this time we get Same Difference – a bro and sis combo who are "the same, but different" and are excruciatingly over-enthusiastic, plus a bunch of girls called W4, even though there are five of them. As for potential finalists, keep an eye out for 14-year-old Emily who has a belter of a voice, and Nicky Evans, a mother of two whose late father filled in the entry form without her knowledge. Her version of the world's most punishing song I Will Always Love You is pretty jaw-dropping. As for the whole Louis-getting-axed-then-reinstated controversy – yes, it is covered in great depth on the show, and, in fact, with too much depth for the press' liking. The ITV big cheese who hosted the event had to admit that to tell the whole story of Louis coming back from the X Factor dead , they had to do "reshoots". In other words they obviously couldn't have been filming the very moments in which it was decided Brian Friedman was a bit rubbish and that Louis would obviously be much better, so they recreated them afterwards. Our question: why bother? They could have just told ther story without trying to milk it for every last melodramatic drop of excitement and no one would have been able to lump what is otherwise a classic show into the whole boring "TV fakery" business. Still, don't miss it  – ITV1, Saturday, 7.40pm. Saturday night TV is worth staying in for again.