For years now, we’ve watched on as The X Factor has shedded viewers and slowly lost its relevancy in today’s pop culture landscape. True to form, though, Simon Cowell’s had another plan up his sleeve to (hopefully) change all of that.
Enter: the celebrities.
For this year’s series, Simon has ditched the usual bunch of talent show hopefuls in favour of famous faces.
Among them are a group of Love Island stars, a US chat show host, a former Strictly professional and an esteemed journalist.
And as good as the line-up might be, we can’t help but feel Simon has missed a trick by not signing up some of these stars...
Nanas Aloud
For the last nine years, we have been sleeping on the greatest girlband this country has ever produced – Nanas Aloud.
This Girls Aloud tribute was made up of five of the Loose Women, who made their debut on the 2010 Children In Need telethon.
Sadly, they have been inactive over the last nine years, but with Carol McGiffin and Denise Welch’s recent return to the panel, there was no better time to get the band back together.
Alison Hammond
Alison brings unlimited amounts of joy to anything she turns her hand to, and with The X Factor lacking in laughs in recent years, This Morning’s showbiz correspondent would have brought them in spadeloads.
Bradley Cooper may not have been a massive fan of her vocals, but we can only imagine the field day creative director Brian Friedman would’ve had with the production of Alison’s performances. A missed opportunity.
Dr Karl Kennedy
Neighbours actor Alan Fletcher is no stranger to a musical moment or two, with his character’s love of his guitar often the subject of ridicule on the soap. But in real life, he tours various student venues with his band The Waiting Room, and perhaps it’s about time they arrived on the international stage.
Ainsley Harriott
After serving up *the* viral moment of 2018, we are long overdue a musical version of Why Hello Jill, and with a recording contract on offer, this should have been the perfect stage to help Ainsley achieve chart superstardom with it.
Letitia Dean
So many EastEnders stars have a musical string to their bow, but there isn’t a cast member we wanted to see up on that stage more than the woman behind the camp-tastic Sharon Mitchell.
If only for another rendition of this oft-overlooked 80s classic...
John Torode and Gregg Wallace
Every series of X Factor features an act that takes it all a little too seriously despite less-than-stellar ability, and we reckon John and Gregg would probably have fitted the this bill.
With rumours that the pair don’t get on behind-the-scenes of MasterChef, we can only imagine the creative disagreements they would’ve had as they staged the first live performance of their viral YouTube number, Buttery Biscuit Base.
Gemma Collins
Anyone who follows Gemma on social media will already know that she loves belting out a tune, and while it’s fair to say she isn’t exactly the most naturally gifted vocalist, she’s a lot more enthusiastic about singing than she ever was about skating.
Her recent Dancing On Ice stint has also proved she’s a massive ratings draw and can generate a huge amount of publicity – two things The X Factor shouldn’t be turning their noses up at right now.
Stephanie Davis
You might be surprised to learn that the Hollyoaks star actually has rather a good voice, having served up this low-key iconic rendition of Jennifer Lopez’s Let’s Get Loud during a stint on an Andrew Lloyd Webber’s talent search back in the 00s. We might be alone in saying this, but we’d love to see a reprive.
With The GC also among our dream line-up, round two of their Celebrity Big Brother feud would’ve been almost guaranteed, generating plenty of on and off-screen drama.
Piers Morgan
Piers is all too quick to question the actions of various popstars, passing judgment on them at any given opportunity, so how great would it have been to finally see the tables turned on him?
Amanda Holden
OK, so Mandy might have already inked a record deal earlier this year, but quite frankly we’re having a tough time waiting for her debut album.
And while she might not welcome the Simon’s critiques after years of sitting alongside him on the Britain’s Got Talent panel, it would be fabulous to see her on the other side of the judges desk.
Nick Knowles
Nick has long fancied himself as a bit of a popstar, even releasing his own album in 2017, but how would his infamous version of Make You Feel My Love have fared when critiqued by Simon Cowell and co?
Caroline Flack and Olly Murs
After a much-criticised stint hosting the show in 2015, we can’t think of a better way for the pair to come back fighting than as a singing duo.
Olly obviously has a bit of an advantage having been a contestant back in 2009, but teamed up with his former co-host, he could have taken his chart career to the next level, as it turns out Caroline has a proper pair of lungs on her.