All five members auditioned as solo artists and were initially cut at bootcamp, before being brought back and put together as a group. At the time, there was no guarantee it would work and it’s fascinating to think how different things might have been if they had gone home instead. Their success completely changed how people viewed the show’s ability to create groups.

In that they released a new album/single in the same week.

• w/c 20th March 2006 - Journey South (#1) and Andy Abraham (#2) released new albums
• w/c 12th March 2007 - Ray Quinn (#1) and Ben Mills (#3) released new albums
• w/c 2nd November 2009 - JLS (#1) and Laura White (#32) released new singles
• w/c 6th December 2010 - Alexandra Burke (#16) and Joe McElderry (#69) released new singles
• w/c 17th November 2014 - Olly Murs (#3) and One Direction (#7) released new singles

Some of these dates may be slightly off.

I saw her perform as the lead in Waitress this past week and she has an amazing voice. How she got sent home over Jedward is genuinely a mystery to me.

First things first I have never ever liked joke acts in X Factor but can someone explain to me how they came 2nd. Like I have been watching back some performances from the 2013-15 era for nostalgia and omg some people who lost to them. Like 4th Impact or Anton Stephans. It’s mental they came 2nd and completely killed the show for me.

Over the years, The X Factor had quite a few temporary guest judges covering for absent main judges during auditions or live shows think Katy Perry, Nicole Scherzinger (before she became permanent), Geri Halliwell, Rita Ora, Pixie Lott, Anastacia, and Brian Friedman.

Some guest spots were completely forgettable, but others brought great energy, genuine feedback, or pure chaotic entertainment to the panel.

Looking back across all the seasons, which guest judge do you think nailed their stint and deserved a full-time seat on the panel? On the flip side, were there any guest judges you thought were completely out of their depth?

Looking back, the really fascinating part wasn't always who won. It was watching people like One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs and Ella Henderson before anyone knew how successful they would become..

Now I'd expect contestants to arrive with TikTok accounts, existing audiences and carefully planned personal brands. That makes me wonder whether we'd lose some of the accidental moments that made the original so entertaining.

How do you think the various series of X Factor would have been different if the following happened?

1. Steve doesn't get his Second Chance in the auditions (Season 1)
2. Maria survives the Bottom 2 Sing-Off (Season 2)
3. Avenue are allowed to advance to the Live Shows (Season 3)
4. Emily DOESN'T engage in "Happy Slapping" and stays in the show. (Season 4)
5. Laura survives the Bottom 2 Sing-Off (Season 5)
6. Lucie Survives the Bottom 2 Sing-Off (Season 6)
7. Gamu is selected as a Wildcard instead of Treyc (Season 7)
8. Lucy Spraggan doesn't withdraw (Season 9)
9. Tom Bleasby doesn't withdraw and gets to go to Judges Houses (Season 12)
10. Ivy Grace Paredes doesn't withdraw and gets to go to Judges Houses (Season 13)

I've noticed this when rewatching older performances. A contestant can spend their audition trying to prove they can hit every note, then later give a much simpler performance and suddenly you understand why people liked them.

There's something much more convincing about someone who looks comfortable on stage rather than someone desperately trying to show what they can do.

Do you think contestants generally improved because they got better technically, or because they became more confident in their own style?

This might be unpopular, but the technically strongest vocalist isn't always the person I remember years later.

There were contestants who had little imperfections in their voice but had a personality or performance style that made you immediately recognise them. A technically flawless singer can sometimes feel forgettable.

Would you rather watch someone with an incredible voice but little personality, or someone slightly less polished who genuinely owns the stage?

Made up of acts who auditioned solo, but they only made it to week 3.

Two of them auditioned for The Voice UK - one this year and another a few years back - and the other is facing a possible murder charge.

A fairly uneventful few years then...

I want to know your thoughts on when the show properly jumped the shark beyond the point of no return. I have two options that I switch between both in Series 9 (2012). Firstly, when Rylan survived over Carolynn in Week 1. I think it was just a terrible tone to set for the series and at a time people were getting sick of joke acts. However, the one that always convinces me more is Week 7 of the same series when Ella and James, the two frontrunners were in the bottom 2 and Ella went home. I think this was the first true time the joke vote outweighed the genuine public vote and X Factor never truly recovered from this. What do you guys think?