The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The eight series of the show to date have been broadcast from August/September through to December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's Talkback Thames and Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The show 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. 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.

Caroline Louise Flack is an English television presenter, known for presenting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! from 2008 to 2010.

On 31 May 2011, it was confirmed that Flack would be co-presenting the eighth series of The Xtra Factor alongside Olly Murs, and would not be returning to present the 2011 series of 'Get Me Out of Here! NOW!.

Flack got her first television break on the sketch show Bo' Selecta! in 2002. She then went on to present the International Pepsi Chart Show, before moving to Channel 4 where, in 2005, she presented links between videos on E4 Music and co-presented The Games: Live At Trackside on E4 alongside Justin Lee Collins. She also had a regular segment in the video games show When Games Attack in 2005. A year later, she was a co-presenter on the Saturday morning show TMi alongside Sam and Mark which aired on BBC Two and the CBBC Channel. Subsequently she hosted CBBC show Escape from Scorpion Island together with Reggie Yates.

In March 2007, Flack hosted the CBBC coverage of Comic Relief does Fame Academy. She commentated on the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with Paddy O' Connell. Flack also hosted Big Brother's Big Mouth for Week 5 of the 2008 series. Daily Mirror journalist Rob Leigh noted that "her sharp delivery makes her the best presenter they’ve had on this series". However, this was not the first time that she was linked to Big Brother. Before the series started, it had been reported that Caroline was Dermot O'Leary's replacement on Big Brother's Little Brother.

Oliver "Olly" Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984 in Witham, Essex, England) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of The X Factor. He is currently signed to Epic Records and Syco Music.

In late August 2010, Murs released his debut single "Please Don't Let Me Go", which debuted at number one on the UK Singles Charts, becoming Murs' second number one single after releasing "You Are Not Alone" with the other series 6 finalists. "Please Don't Let Me Go" received a Silver certification by the BPI. He released his second single from his debut album "Thinking of Me" which charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts, however the single also got a Silver certification by the BPI. "Heart Skips a Beat" was released and became his third number-one hit. Murs' second single from his follow up album In Case You Didn't Know, "Dance with Me Tonight", became his fourth to reach number one.

In November 2010, Murs released his self-titled debut album, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold. The album went on to sell over 600,000 copies, and was certificated double platinum by the BPI. In November 2011, Murs released his second album, In Case You Didn't Know. The album entered the charts at number one, and has spawned two number one singles. In May 2011, it was announced that Murs would return to The X Factor to co-present spin-off show The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack. It was also confirmed that Murs would present a Celebrity Club Classic show on Heart FM. He also has an active Twitter account with over 2 million followers as of May 2012.

Ryan Davies (22 January 1937 — 22 April 1977) was a popular Welsh entertainer of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in the Carmarthenshire village of Glanamman in the Black Mountain, Wales, and was educated in Bangor and at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first professional appearance was in the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1966. He made his name on Welsh language television shows such as the sitcom Fo a Fe and Ryan a Ronnie, in which he appeared with Ronnie Williams. Davies had a simultaneous solo career as a singer, pianist and songwriter. His best-known compositions are: "Ceiliog y Gwynt", "Nadolig Pwy a Wyr" and "Blodwen a Mary". His album, Ryan at the Rank, is now regarded as a classic. Davies starred as "2nd Voice" in the 1972 film Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton.

He married his childhood sweetheart Irene, and they had two children, Bethan Davies and Arwyn Davies. If he were alive now he would have 4 grandchildren, 3 grandsons called William, Twm and James, and a granddaughter named Rebeca. Ryan and Ronnie's show became so popular that it was moved to BBC1 and broadcast in English, winning them a much wider audience, and three series were shown between 1971 and 1973. Ryan's speciality was dressing up as a "typical" Welsh housewife for a weekly sketch on the show known as Our House, in which Ryan played "Mam" and Ronnie played Will, the father. Ryan and Ronnie were hugely popular in Wales. They were the first comedians ever to make TV series in Welsh and English, and were thought of fondly as the Welsh answer to Morecambe and Wise.

Louis Walsh (born Michael Louis Vincent Walsh; 5 August 1952) is an Irish entertainment manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.

Originally from Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Walsh moved to Dublin to get a start in the music industry. He managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone and Westlife, three of Ireland's most successful pop artists in recent decades. In later life, Walsh began an alternative career as a TV talent pundit, on programmes such as You're a Star, The X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent, amongst others.

Louis Walsh got his start in talent an agreement with Johnny Logan, whom Walsh met on a bus when he was 20, and, despite legal difficulties with Logan's previous management, Walsh was convinced that Logan could be a big star if he just got the right breaks. Walsh persuaded Logan to enter the 1979 and 1980 National Song Contests. Logan won 1980 heats with a Shay Healy number called "What's Another Year", representing Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest that year in the Netherlands, which he won.