The X Factor (British series 5)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April and May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000[1] people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.

The X Factor
Series 5
Broadcast from16 August –
13 December 2008
Judges
Presenter(s)Dermot O'Leary (ITV)
Co-presenter(s)Holly Willoughby (ITV2)
Broadcaster
Winner
Alexandra Burke
Burke during her All Night Long Tour in 2011.
OriginIslington, London, England
Song"Hallelujah"
Genre(s)R&B, pop, soul
MentorCheryl Cole
Runner-up
JLS

Burke's prize, as winner, was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music (a subsidiary of Sony BMG). Her debut single, "Hallelujah", written by Leonard Cohen, was released for digital download on 14 December 2008, with the physical format following on 17 December. It was later announced that her single had become the fastest-selling X Factor single at that time.

It was during auditions for the fifth series of the show that viewers were introduced to two teenagers: 15-year-old Jade Thirlwall, who in series eight would form one quarter of the winning act that year, Little Mix, and 14-year-old Liam Payne, who would become a member of boy band One Direction, formed in the seventh series.

Judges, presenters and other personnel
Series 5 judges
Dannii Minogue
Simon Cowell
Cheryl Cole
Louis Walsh

In February 2008, it was reported that Sharon Osbourne would not return as a judge for series 5.[2] On 6 June, six days before filming was due to begin at the London auditions, ITV announced Osbourne's departure from the show.[3][4] Media speculation over the reasons for Osbourne's departure alluded to rising tensions between her and fellow judge Dannii Minogue, as well as disputes over pay.[4] When interviewed by Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1, Osbourne said that it was "the best four years of [her] life" but felt that it was "time to move on."[5]

On 10 June 2008, after Osbourne's departure, ITV confirmed that Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole was the new judge and Osbourne's replacement for series 5. Minogue praised the new judge, saying, "She's very knowledgeable about music and I think she's going to bring a new side to the show."[6] Cowell is reported by Minogue to feel that Cole's voiced opinions are something "which he loves".[6]

Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main ITV show, choosing to leave other projects, including his ongoing role as the host of Big Brother's Little Brother, to concentrate on The X Factor.[7] The Xtra Factor presenter Fearne Cotton left after series 4, having presented for only one series, to be replaced by Holly Willoughby.[8] Brian Friedman returned as choreographer and performance coach (billed as "Creative Director"), along with Yvie Burnett as vocal coach.

Selection process

Auditions
Cities that auditions were held in.

A reported "record-breaking" 182,000 applied for series 5,[1][9] with filming for auditions in front of judges taking place in June/July 2008. Auditions were held in the cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow.[10]

Due to her commitments with Australia's Got Talent, Minogue was absent from some of the auditions in Birmingham and Cardiff but was not replaced.

Bootcamp

As in series 4, all four judges worked together at the bootcamp stage of the competition. This took place at indigO2 at The O2 in Greenwich, London on 4 August 2008, and was televised in two episodes on 27 and 28 September 2008.[11][12] Contestants are said to have stayed in a nearby hotel in Blackheath.[12]

During bootcamp, around 150 acts were whittled down to 24 who advanced to the next round, six in each category. After completion of bootcamp, the judges were told the category that they were to mentor. Cowell was given the Boys, Walsh the Groups, Minogue the Over 25s, and Cole the Girls.

Judges' houses

This round was filmed in late August and early September and was broadcast over two shows on 4 and 5 October. As in previous years, the judges welcomed the six acts from their selected category to their "homes".[13] Each act had one chance to impress their mentor who, along with a guest judge, had the task of selecting which three acts were to go through to the live shows and which three would be eliminated. For her guest judge, Minogue chose former Spice Girls member and Emma Bunton, Cole chose her fellow Girls Aloud member Kimberly Walsh, Cowell chose singer Sinitta, and Walsh chose Shane Filan from Westlife.

Summary of judges' houses
Judge Category Location Assistant Acts eliminated
Cole Girls Cannes Kimberley Walsh Annastasia Baker, Hannah Bradbeer, Amy Connelly
Cowell Boys Barbados Sinitta Mali-Michael McCalla, Liam Payne, Alan Turner
Minogue Over 25s Saint-Tropez Emma Bunton Suzie Furlonger, Louise Heatly, James Williams
Walsh Groups Castle Leslie, Ireland Shane Filan 4Instinct, Desire, Priority

Finalists

Key:

     – Winner
     – Runner-up
     – Third place
Act Age(s) Hometown Category (Mentor) Result
Alexandra Burke 20 London Girls (Cole) Winner
JLS 20–23 Various Groups (Walsh) Runner-up
Eoghan Quigg 16 County Londonderry, Northern Ireland Boys (Cowell) 3rd place
Diana Vickers 17 Accrington Girls (Cole) 4th place
Ruth Lorenzo 26 Murcia, Spain Over 25s (Minogue) 5th place
Rachel Hylton 27 London Over 25s (Minogue) 6th place
Daniel Evans 39 Leyton Over 25s (Minogue) 7th place
Laura White 21 Atherton Girls (Cole) 8th place
Austin Drage 22 Grays Boys (Cowell) 9th place
Scott Bruton 19 Manchester Boys (Cowell) 10th place
Girlband 18–22 Various Groups (Walsh) 11th place
Bad Lashes 19–24 Various Groups (Walsh) 12th place

Live shows

The live shows began on 11 October 2008 and continued through to the finale on 13 December 2008. An added twist for this series, confirmed on the first live show, was that acts in the bottom-two showdown sang a new song of their own choosing, rather than repeating the song they performed in the first part of the show.

Musical guests

Leon Jackson performed on the first live show, promoting his second single "Don't Call This Love". Girls Aloud performed their new single "The Promise" on the second show on 18 October. Will Young performed his new song "Grace" on 1 November. Mariah Carey appeared on 8 November and performed her new single "I Stay in Love", plus a special version of "Hero" with 11 of the finalists (Diana Vickers was ill with laryngitis so could not perform). Leona Lewis appeared the week after and performed her new single "Run". Take That performed on 22 November show, as did series 4 third-place act Same Difference, who performed their debut single, and series 4 runner-up Rhydian Roberts, who sang a track from his debut album.[14] On 29 November show, Britney Spears performed her new single "Womanizer".

Boyzone, Westlife, and Beyoncé were guests on the final show where they duetted with the finalists, with Knowles performing "Listen" with Alexandra Burke. Beyoncé also performed "If I Were a Boy".

Results summary
Colour key
     –Act was in the bottom two and had to sing again in the final showdown
     –Act received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
     –Act received the most public votes
     –Act was given a "Bye Week" and automatically advanced to the following week
Weekly results per act[15]
Act Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Quarter-Final Semi-Final Final
First Vote Second Vote
Alexandra Burke 6th
7.20%		 3rd
9.21%		 4th

10.15%

 2nd

17.00%

 2nd
18.35%		 4th
13.31%		 4th
14.97%		 1st
24.53%		 2nd
31.04%		 1st
44.02%		 Winner
58.34%
JLS 7th
5.03%		 7th

7.15%

 6th
8.83%		 6th

8.82%

 4th
13.26%		 5th
9.91%		 5th
11.75%		 2nd
24.34%		 1st
35.03%		 2nd
30.65%		 Runner-up
41.66%
Eoghan Quigg 1st
21.19%		 1st
26.77%		 1st
20.73%		 1st
19.81%		 1st
27.39%		 2nd
19.56%		 1st
31.79%		 3rd
19.58%		 3rd
21.14%		 3rd
25.33%		 Eliminated
(final)
Diana Vickers 4th
7.35%		 2nd
16.24%		 2nd
15.13%		 3rd
15.24%		 Bye Week1 1st
31.30%		 2nd
18.94%		 4th
16.32%		 4th
12.79%		 Eliminated
(semi-final)
Ruth Lorenzo 10th
3.47%		 10th
2.95%		 5th
8.93%		 5th
10.25%		 7th
6.94%		 3rd
13.91%		 3rd
16.07%		 5th
15.23%		 Eliminated
(quarter-final)
Rachel Hylton 8th
4.77%		 8th
5.01%		 3rd
12.21%		 9th
3.81%		 5th
10.39%		 7th
4.48%		 6th
6.48%		 Eliminated
(week 7)
Daniel Evans 5th
7.21%		 6th
8.23%		 9th
5.94%		 4th
10.83%		 3rd
13.77%		 6th
7.53%		 Eliminated
(week 6)
Laura White 3rd
16.99%		 4th
8.99%		 7th
7.53%		 7th
7.38%		 6th
9.90%		 Eliminated
(week 5)
Austin Drage 9th
3.63%		 5th
8.98%		 8th
6.22%		 8th
6.86%		 Eliminated
(week 4)
Scott Bruton 2nd
19.48%		 9th
4.17%		 10th
3.67%		 Eliminated
(week 3)
Girlband 11th
2.17%		 11th
2.30%		 Eliminated
(week 2)
Bad Lashes 12th
1.51%		 Eliminated
(week 1)
Final Showdown Bad Lashes,
Girlband		 Girlband,
Lorenzo		 Bruton,
Evans		 Drage,
Hylton		 Lorenzo,
White		 Evans,
Hylton		 Hylton,
JLS		 No final showdown or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Walsh’s vote to eliminate Bad LashesLorenzoBrutonDrageWhiteEvansHylton
Minogue’s vote to eliminate GirlbandGirlbandBrutonDrageWhiteN/A2JLS
Cole’s vote to eliminate GirlbandGirlbandBrutonDrageLorenzoEvansHylton
Cowell’s vote to eliminate Bad LashesLorenzoEvansHyltonWhiteEvansHylton
Eliminated Bad Lashes
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock		 Girlband
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock		 Scott Bruton
3 of 4 votes
Majority		 Austin Drage
3 of 4 votes
Majority		 Laura White
3 of 4 votes
Majority		 Daniel Evans
3 of 3 votes
Majority		 Rachel Hylton
3 of 4 votes
Majority		 Ruth Lorenzo
15.23%
to save		 Diana Vickers
12.79%
to save		 Eoghan Quigg
25.33%
to save		 JLS
41.66%
to win

The total number of votes cast for the entire series was 16,469,064.

^1 Due to illness, Diana Vickers did not perform during week 5 and automatically advanced to week 6.
^2 Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority.

Live show details

Week 1 (11 October)
Contestants' performances on the first live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Girlband Groups (Walsh)1"Venus"Bottom two
Austin Drage Boys (Cowell)2"Every Breath You Take"Safe
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)3"I Want to Know What Love Is"Safe
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)4"I Wanna Dance with Somebody"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)5"I'll Make Love to You"Safe
Scott Bruton Boys (Cowell)6"Yeh Yeh"Safe
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)7"With Every Heartbeat"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)8"With or Without You"Safe
Bad Lashes Groups (Walsh)9"It Must Have Been Love"Bottom two
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)10"Imagine"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)11"Take My Breath Away"Safe
Laura White Girls (Cole)12"Fallin'"Safe
Final showdown details
Girlband Groups (Walsh)1"That's What Friends Are For"Safe
Bad Lashes Groups (Walsh)2"Wonderwall"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Bad Lashes – gave no reason but described both acts as "shocking"; he later stated on The Xtra Factor that he felt Girlband had shown more emotion in their final showdown performance due to being shown in a earlier slot to be overlooked by the public.
  • Cole: Girlband – gave no reason.
  • Minogue: Girlband – gave no reason.
  • Walsh: Bad Lashes – could not decide between two of his own acts so chose to take it to deadlock.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Bad Lashes were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 2 (18 October)
Contestants' performances on the second live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)1"I'll Be There"Safe
Scott Bruton Boys (Minogue)2"She's Out of My Life"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)3"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"Bottom two
Girlband Groups (Walsh)4"Heal the World"Bottom two
Laura White Girls (Cole)5"You Are Not Alone"Safe
Austin Drage Boys (Cowell)6"Billie Jean"Safe
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)7"One Day in Your Life"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)8"The Way You Make Me Feel"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)9"Man in the Mirror"Safe
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)10"Dirty Diana"Safe
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)11"Ben"Safe
Final showdown details
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)1"Purple Rain"Safe
Girlband Groups (Walsh)2"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Ruth Lorenzo – backed his own act, Girlband.
  • Minogue: Girlband – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo
  • Cole: Girlband – based on the final showdown performances.
  • Cowell: Ruth Lorenzo – decided to take it to deadlock as he wanted to give Girlband a second chance whereas he felt Lorenzo did not "play to her strengths".

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Girlband were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. During the show, a mistake was made in one of the overlays and Lorenzo's number was briefly displayed incorrectly, meaning any calls to that number would not have registered a vote. After the show, viewers complained that they had dialled this incorrect number and could not get through to vote for Lorenzo, but ITV insisted the issue should not have made any difference to the overall result as Lorenzo received more votes than Girlband and advanced to the third week after the result went to deadlock.[16]

Week 3 (25 October)
Contestants' performances on the third live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Scott Bruton Boys (Cowell)1"That's Life"Bottom two
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)2"The Lady Is a Tramp"Bottom two
Laura White Girls (Cole)3"God Bless the Child"Safe
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)4"L-O-V-E"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)5"Summertime"Safe
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)6"Candyman"Safe
Austin Drage Boys (Cowell)7"Mack the Knife"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)8"Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)9"Smile"Safe
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)10"Feeling Good"Safe
Final showdown details
Scott Bruton Boys (Cowell)1"I Can't Make You Love Me"Eliminated
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)2"To Where You Are"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Daniel Evans – backed his own act, Scott Bruton.
  • Cole: Scott Bruton – said that she felt the "belief and passion" in Evans' performance.
  • Minogue: Scott Bruton – backed her own act, Daniel Evans, whom she stated sang the best in the sing off.
  • Walsh: Scott Bruton – commented that Evans "sang every word like he meant it".

Week 4 (1 November)
Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)1"Lost in Music"Bottom two
Austin Drage Boys (Cowell)2"Wishing on a Star"Bottom two
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)3"Call Me"Safe
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)4"Don't Leave Me This Way"Safe
Laura White Girls (Cole)5"Somebody Else's Guy"Safe
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)6"Could It Be Magic"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)7"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"Safe
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)8"On the Radio"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)9"Working My Way Back To You"/"Forgive Me Girl"Safe
Final showdown details
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)1"No More Drama"Safe
Austin Drage Boys (Cowell)2"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, Austin Drage.
  • Cole: Austin Drage – stated she was prepared to give Hylton a "moment to shine".
  • Minogue: Austin Drage – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton.
  • Walsh: Austin Drage – said Hylton had more to give to the competition and was more of a "raw talent".

Week 5 (8 November)
Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)1"Anytime You Need a Friend"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)2"My All"Bottom two
Laura White Girls (Cole)3"Endless Love"Bottom two
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)4"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)5Bye Week1Automatically advanced
JLS Groups (Walsh)6"One Sweet Day"Safe
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)7"Open Arms"Safe
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)8"Without You"Safe
Final showdown details
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)1"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"Safe
Laura White Girls (Cole)2"Over the Rainbow"Eliminated

^1 Due to illness, Diana Vickers did not perform and automatically advanced to the following week. She was due to perform fifth and would have performed "Always Be My Baby".

Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Laura White – gave no reason but commented that both acts "were not the worst singers of the night".
  • Cole: Ruth Lorenzo – backed her own act, Laura White.
  • Minogue: Laura White – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo.
  • Walsh: Laura White – commented that Lorenzo was "more of a fighter".

Week 6 (15 November)
Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song British artist Result
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)1"It's Not Unusual"Tom JonesBottom two
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)2"You Are So Beautiful"Joe CockerSafe
JLS Groups (Walsh)3"I Want to Hold Your Hand"/"Twist and Shout"/"Hey Jude"The BeatlesSafe
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)4"You Know I'm No Good"Amy WinehouseBottom two
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)5"One More Try"George MichaelSafe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)6"Yellow"ColdplaySafe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)7"Angels"Robbie WilliamsSafe
Final showdown details
Daniel Evans Over 25s (Minogue)1"Bridge over Troubled Water"Eliminated
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)2"One"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Daniel Evans – gave no reason, but he stated on The Xtra Factor that he made his choice based on the premise that the show is a singing competition.
  • Cole: Daniel Evans – stated that she had seen a spark back from Hylton this week.
  • Cowell: Daniel Evans – gave no reason though commented that Hylton "threw it away" with her last performance and that he would have liked to see her perform with more passion; he later stated on The Xtra Factor that he wanted to save Hylton as she was one of his favorite acts in the competition.
  • Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority; she stated she would have tried to take it to deadlock as both acts were in her category.

Week 7 (22 November)
Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order Song Result
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)1"Relight My Fire"Safe
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)2"Love Ain't Here Anymore"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)3"A Million Love Songs"Bottom two
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)4"Rule the World"Bottom two
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)5"Patience"Safe
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)6"Never Forget"Safe
Final showdown details
JLS Groups (Walsh)1"Stand by Me"/"Beautiful Girls"Safe
Rachel Hylton Over 25s (Minogue)2"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, JLS.
  • Minogue: JLS – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton.
  • Cole: Rachel Hylton – said JLS would go further in the competition though stated that it had been the best Hylton had sung since the auditions.
  • Cowell: Rachel Hylton – stated that this was Hylton's third time in the bottom two and that JLS should not have been in the final showdown.

JLS had previously been rehearsing to sing "Rule the World", with the approval of their mentor, Walsh. Contrary to this, Minogue, who had higher priority in the judges' song-selection rota, selected the song for her artist Hylton to sing. This led to an on-screen argument between Minogue and Walsh.[17]

Week 8: Quarter-Final (29 November)
Contestants' performances on the eighth live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order First song Order Second song Result
Ruth Lorenzo Over 25s (Minogue)1"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"6"Always"Eliminated
JLS Groups (Walsh)2"...Baby One More Time"7"You Light Up My Life"Safe
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)3"Toxic"8"Listen"Safe
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)4"Sometimes"9"We're All in This Together"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)5"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"10"Everybody Hurts"Safe

The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ruth Lorenzo, was automatically eliminated.

Week 9: Semi-Final (6 December)
Contestants' performances on the ninth live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order First song Order Second song Result
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)1"Year 3000"5"Does Your Mother Know"Safe
Diana Vickers Girls (Cole)2"Girlfriend"6"White Flag"Eliminated
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)3"Don't Stop the Music"7"Un-Break My Heart"Safe
JLS Groups (Walsh)4"Umbrella"8"I'm Already There"Safe

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Diana Vickers, was automatically eliminated.

Week 10: Final (13 December)
Contestants' performances on the final live show
Act Category (Mentor) Order First song Order Second song (duet) Order Third song Order Fourth song Result
Eoghan Quigg Boys (Cowell)1"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"4"Picture of You" (with Boyzone)7"We're All in This Together"N/A (already eliminated)3rd place
JLS Groups (Walsh)2"Last Christmas"5"Flying Without Wings" (with Westlife)8"I'm Already There"10"Hallelujah"Runner-up
Alexandra Burke Girls (Cole)3"Silent Night"6"Listen" (with Beyoncé)9"You Are So Beautiful"11"Hallelujah"Winner

Charity single

The twelve finalists together recorded a cover version of Mariah Carey's 1993 hit "Hero" in support of the Help for Heroes charity.[18] The single was available for download from 25 October 2008, after the finalists performed the song live on that night's show. It was released in stores on 27 October, and Simon Cowell predicted it "will go straight to the top of the charts".[19] In the first week of its release it went straight to number 1 and sold 313,244 copies, more than the rest of the top ten combined.[20]

Reception

Ratings

Viewing figures for series 5 were, at the time of airing, the highest ever for any X Factor series, about 20% up on the previous series.[21] This, however, was beaten by the sixth series the following year.

The first show of the series had the highest launch audience for any series, peaking at over 12 million viewers.[22] The entire Auditions phase officially averaged 9.9m, a rise of 1.2m over the previous series.

The Bootcamp episodes performed well in the ratings; although the Saturday episode was beaten for the first time by Strictly Come Dancing,[23] the Sunday episode restored the balance.[24] The Saturday Judges' houses episode had the highest audience since the opening show, and the Sunday episode had a lower rating but still exceeded that of Strictly Come Dancing.[25] The entire bootcamp and judges' houses phase officially averaged 9.8m, a rise of 2.5m over the previous series.

The live shows pulled in very strong audiences, often rating as the most watched programme of the week.[26] The final was the second most watched television programme of 2008 with 14.06m viewers.[27]

Series 5 of The X Factor officially averaged 10.5m, at the time becoming the most watched British talent series of the 21st century.

Episode Air date Official ITV1 rating[28] Weekly rank[28] Share
Auditions 116 August10.78148.2%[29]
Auditions 223 August10.10145.4%[30]
Auditions 330 August8.80243.5%[31]
Auditions 46 September9.57142.8%[32]
Auditions 513 September9.96143.2%[33]
Auditions 620 September10.01141.7%[34]
Bootcamp 127 September8.94436.0%[35]
Bootcamp 228 September9.47138.1%[36]
Judges' houses 14 October10.84140.5%[37]
Judges' houses 25 October10.11342.7%[38]
Live show 111 October11.09144.1%[39]
Results 19.05740.8%[39]
Live show 218 October10.21338.5%[40]
Results 29.13939.7%[40]
Live show 325 October10.37239.7%[41]
Results 38.891038.0%[41]
Live show 41 November11.65143.3%[42]
Results 49.72637.6%[42]
Live show 58 November10.72242.6%[43]
Results 59.46735.6%[43]
Live show 615 November11.28143.5%[44]
Results 610.62242.9%[44]
Live show 722 November11.77143.2%[45]
Results 79.98641.1%[45]
Live show 829 November12.67146.0%[46]
Results 811.41250.0%[46]
Semi-final6 December10.30339.1%[47]
Semi-final results10.60239.6%[47]
Final performances13 December13.77250.3%[48]
Final results14.06154.4%[48]
Series average200810.51142.4%
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References
  1. Singh, Anita (11 August 2008). "X Factor's Dannii Minogue says she 'won't miss' Sharon Osbourne". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  2. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a89946/sharon-osbourne-quits-x-factor.html#~oM5pdx4Pc2eXCH
  3. "Sharon leaves The X Factor". ITV. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  4. "Sharon Osbourne quits The X Factor". BBC News. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  5. "No more X Factor says Sharon". BBC. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  6. "Dannii Minogue 'Upset' by Sharon Osbourne Feud". the daily goss.com. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  7. "Big Brother: Start date announced". Daily Mirror. 25 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
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  30. 'X Factor' keeps up ratings pace – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  31. 'X Factor' loses 1m to summer heat – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  32. Latest 'X Factor' draws 9 million – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  33. Encouraging start for 'Strictly' – Strictly Come Dancing News, Digital Spy
  34. 'Merlin' pulls in 6.6 million – Merlin News, Digital Spy
  35. 'Strictly' beats 'X Factor' in ratings – Strictly Come Dancing News, Digital Spy
  36. Extra 'X Factor' tops Sunday ratings – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  37. 'X Factor' back ahead of 'Strictly' in ratings – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  38. Huge audience for 'Potter' on Sunday – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  39. 'Merlin' ratings rise despite live 'X Factor' – Merlin News, Digital Spy
  40. 'X Factor' tops Saturday ratings – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  41. 'X Factor' maintains ratings lead – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  42. X marks the spot for ITV1 | Broadcast
  43. 'Strictly' hits series high with 9.6m – TV News – Digital Spy
  44. 'X Factor' maintains ratings lead – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  45. 'Strictly' hits new series high – Strictly Come Dancing News, Digital Spy
  46. 'X Factor' hits 12.8m ratings high – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  47. 'X Factor' suffers 'Strictly' knock – X Factor News, Digital Spy
  48. 'X Factor' finale peaks with 14.6 million – X Factor News, Digital Spy

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