X Factor 2012, judges' houses: part one, ITV1, review The boys were flown to Dubai, where they were greeted by the bizarre, robotic pair of mentor Nicole Scherzinger, whose face barely moved for the entire programme, and r'n"b star Ne-Yo, who had a red trilby perched precariously atop his head. Bluesy, intense James Arthur was the standout performer. He'll surely progress along with Jahmene Douglas, who remains a nervous wreck and became shouty at times, but is worth the risk for his vocal gymnastics and quiet likeability. The other four hopefuls were much of a mediocre muchness. Let's just hope Rylan Clark doesn't go through based on novelty value - the Essex wannabe's Jedi-like hooded outfit tonight was truly extraordinary. Jake Quickenden probably deserves the third spot and the sad story about his terminally ill brother might just have sealed for him, cynical as that sounds. Scherzinger and Ne-Yo were last seen deliberating across giant bowls of heavily buffed fruit. The Girls performed to mentor Tulisa Contosatvios and advisor Tinie Tempah on a sun-terrace in St Lucia. Despite her youth, 16-year-old Ella Henderson was streets ahead of the rest. She looks likely to be joined in the live shows by Jade Ellis and Amy Mottram. Lucy Spraggan might just miss out because her quirky guitar schtick is simply not suited to this format. Her unwise Whitney Houston song choice didn't help her cause. Naturally, they saved the big story for last: the return of Cheryl Cole, two years since she left the judging panel for a notoriously short-lived stint on the US version. She was back as Gary Barlow's sidekick and brought some serious star quality, even with just a few minutes of screen time and a few whispered comments. This was the Over-28s, who all tried not to look disappointed when they were whisked off to, well, Northamptonshire. That said, stately home Boughton House did look spectacular. The performers crooned on rolling lawns before the judgely duo repaired to fireside leather armchairs for their cogitations. Melanie Masson and Kye Sones look sure to progress, while the last place is a toss-up between Carolynne Poole and quivering, orange-faced Christopher Maloney. The strange editing of previous stages meant that we were getting our first proper look at posh pub singer Brad Shackleton, which hardly augurs well for his chances. At almost two hours, the show was overlong - especially bearing in mind it's back tomorrow night for an 80-minute reveal of the results. There was too much footage of contestants group-hugging in airports and telling us how amazing everything was. Too many pairs of shorts were worn by the hopefuls, too many pairs of sunglasses by the judges. It also felt slightly strange without Sinitta's annual appearance in a preposterous outfit. We reconvene tomorrow. Perhaps she'll pop up then, polishing some fruit or poking at an open fire, clad in just two palm leaves. We can but pray.