The X Factor (British TV series) series 14

Judges and Presenter

Louis Walsh confirmed in December 2016 that he would continue to judge through 2018, having signed for the next two years. Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger both cast doubt on their return that same month; Osbourne cited her dual work on The Talk, while Scherzinger said she could not confirm she would be back but would want to return with the same panel. Simon Cowell announced his intention to retain the same judging panel for the fourteenth series on 13 April 2017, and in June 2017 it was confirmed the panel would remain unchanged.

Dermot O'Leary returned for his tenth series as presenter. Alesha Dixon appeared as a guest judge for the first day of Manchester auditions on 23 June 2017 due to Scherzinger having a previous diary commitment, and again on 28 June for Osbourne, who was unavailable because of a long-standing back injury. Cowell arrived late to the London auditions on 4 July 2017 due to illness. Dixon reappeared as a guest judge on the Sunday live show on 29 October 2017, filling in for Cowell, who was absent recovering from an injury.

Selection process

The 2017 series of The X Factor brought several format changes. Auditions were held at Thorpe Park, bootcamp was performed live in front of an audience, and the live show run was cut from ten weeks to six. Contestants faced elimination on both Saturday and Sunday, as Saturday broadcasts had been drawing lower ratings. The minimum age for contestants dropped from 16 to 14.

To advance past auditions, a performer needed approval from at least three of the four judges. Mobile auditions ran from 11 May in Belfast to 23 May in Yeovil. The main audition tour started on 20 June in Liverpool and finished on 10 July in Surrey. Bootcamp was recorded live at The SSE Arena, Wembley, with a studio audience.

After bootcamp but before the six-chair challenge, the judges were assigned their categories: Scherzinger took the Over 28s, Cowell the Groups, Osbourne the Girls, and Walsh the Boys. Bootcamp consisted of two stages. In the Wall of Songs stage, a list of 35 songs appeared on a wall four times. The four contestants who selected the same song performed it together, and the judges immediately decided who moved on.

In the second stage, the bootcamp audition, each act performed in front of the judges and a live audience, with the judges giving an instant yes or no for the six-chair challenge. The category assignments were announced at Wembley Stadium and aired on television on 7 October.

Live shows

The contestants for the live shows were announced during the episode broadcast on 22 October 2017. At the end of that episode, a wildcard vote for each category was announced by O'Leary, with the winners revealed on 28 October at the start of the first live show. For the first time since series six, a major overhaul of the set layout was made as live shows debuted at LH2 Studios in London, following the closure of Fountain Studios. Other changes included contestant and musical guest performances on both Saturday and Sunday shows, and the removal of final showdowns, deadlocks and judges' votes on the Sunday show.

Each show, two categories sang and the public vote opened for a short time; the contestant with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated, and the contestant with the highest votes was announced. The two acts who won their respective public vote then sang against each other in a new element called the prize fight, with the winner receiving a special weekly prize. The live final was broadcast from the Excel Centre, London for the first time. Musical guests included Liam Payne, Stormzy, Tokio Myers, Rita Ora, Harry Styles, Paloma Faith, Matt Terry, Fergie, James Arthur, Ed Sheeran, PrettyMuch, Louis Tomlinson, Pink, Sam Smith, CNCO and Little Mix.

The theme for the first week was Express Yourself, with a prize of a trip to New York City and a meet and greet with Pink at Madison Square Garden. The voting percentages in week 6 for Sunday do not add up to 100% due to the freezing of votes; Kevin Davy White received 8.2% of the final vote.

Winner's single

The winner's single proceeds support children's hospice charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase. Simco Limited gives all its profits from downloads and audio streaming of the single to these charities, with the Chancellor also contributing the VAT, split evenly between them. FremantleMedia, ITV, and all performers on the single waive their master royalties from downloads and streaming.

Did You Know?

• This is the first series to be sponsored by Just Eat, with the show having been sponsored by TalkTalk since 2009.
• Rak-Su became the second group to win the competition.