Simon Cowell was not a part of a reality show.
The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent .. British. Television in the United Kingdom. reality television. reality television. The contestants are aspiring singers drawn from public auditions .. Created by Simon Cowell , the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August / September until December .. Simon Cowell. Simon Cowell. The show is produced by FremantleMedia 's Thames -LRB- previously Talkback Thames -RRB- and Cowell 's production company Syco TV .. Thames. Thames ( production company ). Talkback Thames. Talkback Thames. FremantleMedia. FremantleMedia. Syco. Syco. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and simulcast on TV3 in Ireland .. ITV. ITV ( TV network ). TV3. TV3 ( Ireland ). `` X Factor '' refers to the undefinable `` something '' that makes for star quality .. The series consists of auditions , bootcamp , judges ' houses , several weeks of live shows , semi-finals and the final .. The series had a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor , which aired directly after the main show on ITV2 .. The Xtra Factor. #The Xtra Factor Live. spin-off. Spin-off ( media ). ITV2. ITV2. This lasted from series 1 until series 13 when it was cancelled by ITV in January 2017 .. ITV. ITV ( TV network ). series 13. The X Factor ( UK series 13 ). The original judging panel consisted of Louis Walsh , Sharon Osbourne and Cowell .. Sharon Osbourne. Sharon Osbourne. Louis Walsh. Louis Walsh. In 2005 Paula Abdul joined the show as a guest judge whilst Osbourne was away then joined the panel in 2006 for three sets of auditions .. Brian Friedman replaced Walsh in series 4 , which also saw Dannii Minogue join the panel .. Brian Friedman. Brian Friedman. Dannii Minogue. Dannii Minogue. series 4. The X Factor ( UK series 4 ). Friedman left during the auditions and Walsh replaced Friedman .. Cheryl Cole replaced Osbourne in series 5 .. Cheryl Cole. Cheryl Cole. series 5. The X Factor ( UK series 5 ). Gary Barlow , Kelly Rowland and Tulisa joined the panel in series 8 as replacements for Cowell , Minogue , and Cole .. Gary Barlow. Gary Barlow. Kelly Rowland. Kelly Rowland. Tulisa. Tulisa. series 8. The X Factor ( UK series 8 ). Rowland left before series 9 and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger .. Nicole Scherzinger. Nicole Scherzinger. series 9. The X Factor ( UK series 9 ). Osbourne returned to the panel in series 10 , replacing Tulisa .. Tulisa. Tulisa. series 10. The X Factor ( UK series 10 ). Cowell and Cole -LRB- now Fernandez-Versini -RRB- returned to replace Barlow and Osbourne in series 11 , while Mel B replaced Scherzinger .. Mel B. Mel B. series 11. The X Factor ( UK series 11 ). In series 12 , Mel B and Walsh were replaced by Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw .. Mel B. Mel B. Nick Grimshaw. Nick Grimshaw. Rita Ora. Rita Ora. series 12. The X Factor ( UK series 12 ). In series 13 , Walsh , Osbourne and Scherzinger returned , replacing Grimshaw , Fernandez-Versini and Ora .. series 13. The X Factor ( UK series 13 ). The first three series were presented by Kate Thornton , then from the fourth to 11th series , the show was presented by Dermot O'Leary , he then returned from the 13th series .. Kate Thornton. Kate Thornton. Dermot O'Leary. Dermot O'Leary. In series 12 , the show was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs .. Caroline Flack. Caroline Flack. Olly Murs. Olly Murs. series 12. The X Factor ( UK series 12 ). Also , in series 10 , Flack served as a backstage presenter during the Saturday night live shows .. series 10. The X Factor ( UK series 10 ). Roman Kemp will begin serving as the digital presenter of the show in series 13 .. series 13. The X Factor ( UK series 13 ). Roman Kemp. Roman Kemp. The show is split into different stages , following the contestants from auditions through to the final .. In the original televised audition stage of the show , contestants sang in an audition room in front of just the judges , but from the sixth series onwards , auditionees sing on a stage in front of the judges and a live audience .. sixth series. The X Factor ( UK series 6 ). In series 10 and 11 , both auditions formats were used .. series 10. The X Factor ( UK series 10 ). In series 12 , the room auditions were scrapped , leaving just the arena auditions .. series 12. The X Factor ( UK series 12 ). The room auditions were revived in series 13 , and no arena auditions followed .. series 13. The X Factor ( UK series 13 ). Successful auditionees go through to `` bootcamp '' and then to `` judges ' houses '' , where judges narrow down the acts in their category down to three or four acts to mentor for the live shows , where the public vote for their favourite acts following weekly live performances by the contestants .. There have been 13 winners of the show to date  : Steve Brookstein , Shayne Ward , Leona Lewis , Leon Jackson , Alexandra Burke , Joe McElderry , Matt Cardle , Little Mix , James Arthur , Sam Bailey , Ben Haenow , Louisa Johnson and Matt Terry .. Steve Brookstein. Steve Brookstein. Shayne Ward. Shayne Ward. Leona Lewis. Leona Lewis. Leon Jackson. Leon Jackson. Alexandra Burke. Alexandra Burke. Joe McElderry. Joe McElderry. Matt Cardle. Matt Cardle. Little Mix. Little Mix. James Arthur. James Arthur. Sam Bailey. Sam Bailey. Ben Haenow. Ben Haenow. Louisa Johnson. Louisa Johnson. Matt Terry. Matt Terry. Winners receive a recording contract with record label Syco Music with a stated value of # 1 million .. Syco. Syco. This includes a cash payment to the winner , but the majority is allocated to marketing and recording costs .. From 2004 to 2010 , and again in 2013 and 2014 , the winning contestant 's single was released in time for the end-of-year chart battle for the UK 's Christmas number one , with all of them -LRB- bar McElderry in 2009 and Terry in 2016 -RRB- reaching the top spot .. Christmas number one. List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones. As of November 2016 , 41 number-one singles have been achieved by artists who have appeared on the show , such as Lewis , Burke , JLS , Olly Murs , Cher Lloyd , One Direction and Little Mix .. Olly Murs. Olly Murs. Little Mix. Little Mix. artists who have appeared on the show. The X Factor ( UK ) discography. JLS. JLS. Cher Lloyd. Cher Lloyd. One Direction. One Direction. The show is the originator of the international The X Factor franchise .. A prominent show in British popular culture , The X Factor has proved hugely popular with the public .. British. Television in the United Kingdom. British popular culture. British popular culture. The sixth series attracted 200,000 auditionees and peaked at 19.7 million UK viewers -LRB- a 63.2 % audience share -RRB- .. sixth series. The X Factor ( UK series 6 ). More than 10 million votes were cast in the sixth series final .. sixth series. The X Factor ( UK series 6 )