Back to Reality

25 August 2011

The X Factor and Big Brother, two of the UK’s most-watched shows from last year, returned to our screens this month with one almighty bang. Are you tuning in or turning off?! 

The X Factor

Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child fame, Tulisa from N-Dubz and Take That’s Gary Barlow all joined Louis Walsh this month in the hunt for Britain’s next big recording artist on ITV1 and ITV1 HD’s The X Factor.

Remember last year? The year of Katie Waissal, Trayc Cohen and Wagner?! Ok, ok, we forgot about them too, but last year's runner-ups are on the return with albums on the way from boyband One Direction,  Rebecca Ferguson and of course, winner Matt Cardle. It’s now quite clear that you don’t need to actually win The X Factor to get an album deal and make money – just ask Mary Byrne and Cher Lloyd who have both had big-selling releases in 2011.

With the departure of Cheryl, Simon and Dannii, it was up to the new judges to prove their place on the panel as they judged a set of the bad auditions and a set of the good auditions. Kitty Brucknell, a successful Lady Gaga tribute act, was one of the first singers to get through to Boot Camp after a confident audition. Then, Frankie Cocozza got his bottom out and the caused the TV-viewing nation to complain; scandal. Just when you thought the appearance of Cocozza’s tattooed backside could not be topped, he was overshadowed by George Gerasimou’s awful outburst at Tulisa, calling her a dog. I think it’s safe to say he did not make it to Boot Camp.

We are only one episode in but are we hooked? The 8th series promises bigger and better, longer episodes, with the final being held at Wembley Arena. We’ve only seen a tiny slice of what the judges are capable of and let’s be honest, no one with The X Factor has graced the stage as yet. Tune in for more X Factor auditions every Saturday on ITV1 and ITV1 HD, and if you are an Xtra Factor fan, flick over to ITV2 for backstage access courtesy of Caroline Flack and Olly Murs straight after the ITV1 show.

Celebrity Big Brother 

After 11 series and 275 housemates, Big Brother is back with a new format on Channel 5 which started with Celebrity Big Brother on August 18th. The celebrity series will run for a few weeks and then ‘normal’ people will go in, the non-famous type, and the celebrities come out.

Big Brother has a new host - in the form of previous Big Brother and Ultimate Big Brother winner Brian Dowling - and there’s a new spin-off edition of the show called Big Brother’s Bit on the Side hosted by Emma Griffiths. The rumour mill has been in overdrive for the past few months with celeb names such as Pamela Anderson, Charlie Sheen and Katie Price supposedly all joining the line-up, but sadly, the final celebs were a little bit down the list compared to those mentioned. Kerry Katona, Jedward and Amy Childs from the TOWIE were among some of the ‘stars’ to enter the house to play the game of Big Brother. 

We’re now one week in and tears have been shed but nothing scandalous has happened as such. 

The original series began in 2000, at a time when the contestants were not all fame-hungry, WAG wannabes, and like it or not, the show has given us some household names. The late Jade Goody, DJ Kate Lawler, This Morning’s Alison Hammond and Chantelle Houghton all had a rather fruitful career and on the back of the reality series. The celebrity versions of series past have also housed a list of and celebrities including Coolio, Pete Burns, Michael Barrymore, Letoya  Jackson and Jodie Marsh.

Celebrity Big Brother is on every night on Channel 5 and it’s the first live eviction this week with Kerry Katona, Sally Bercow and Bobby Sabel all up for the chop. Who goes? You decide.

Join in the conversation on Freeview’s Facebook page  and @freeviewTV  on Twitter. 

For TV times and top picks of the week, check out the Freeview TV guide .