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- Simon Cowell (judge) Seasons 1-7; 11-15 (2004-2010; 2014-2018) Winning mentees: Steve Brookstein (1); Leona Lewis (3); Ben Haenow (11); Rak-Su (14) Other work
- Sharon Osbourne (judge) Seasons 1-4; 10; 13-14 (2004-2007; 2013; 2016-2017) Winning mentee: Sam Bailey (10) Other work: – Founder of Sharon Osbourne Management.
- Louis Walsh (judge) Seasons 1-11; 13-14 (2004-2014; 2016-2017) Winning mentee: Shayne Ward (2) Other work: – Creator and manager of the groups Boyzone, Bellefire, Westlife, and HomeTown.
- Dannii Minogue (judge) Seasons 4-7 (2007-2010) Winning mentees: Leon Jackson (4); Matt Cardle (7) Other work: – Performer on “Young Talent Time” (1982-1988) and “Home and Away” (1989-1990)
- SIMON COWELL. Could it be anyone else? The man behind The X Factor is really the man who keeps the show going. Sure, The X Factor survived without Cowell, but it never really thrived - and the sense of relief among fans when he chose to return was palpable.
- LOUIS WALSH. YEAH, WE WENT THERE. People might moan about Louis Walsh, and sure, on the face of it he's everything you'd think would be bad about The X Factor - he begs for votes, he has stock catchphrases which he recycles over and over, and he has a penchant for novelty acts (in all his time on the show, he's only won once, with Shayne Ward back in series two).
- DANNII MINOGUE. Do you know what's difficult? Pleasing X Factor viewers. And do you know who has managed to do that consistently? Dannii Minogue. Dannii is probably the judge that fans want back the most, because she was brilliant at it - kind and sweet, sure, but also honest when she needed to be.
- NICOLE SCHERZINGER. If there's one returning judge that has got people excited about the new series, it's probably Nicole Scherzinger. When she first joined as a guest judge she got the credit for putting together One Direction; when she returned full-time, she was glorious.
- Overview
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This is the ranking of the 15 judges from The X Factor UK - based on the amount of act they had in the Top 3 of each series and their winning rate.
Also, this is based on just the main 15 series. Therefore, some of the judges' work in The X Factor: Battle of the Stars, The X Factor: Celebrity, The X Factor: The Band and in other countries won't be included.
15.Ayda Field
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
•2018 (Over 29s) - Danny Tetley (6th)
Although many fans were happy to see Robbie Williams as a permanent judge on the 15th series of the show, the reception for his wife, Ayda, wasn't so positive. When Ayda was announced as a judge for the 15th series, the majority of The X Factor fandom were confused about the decision, due to Ayda's lack of music experience and were annoyed of her replacing fan-favourite judge Sharon Osbourne, who left after the 14th series. Even popular veteran judge Louis Walsh, who also left after the 14th series, agreed that Robbie bringing his wife with him was a huge mistake, particularly by Simon. When she was on the show, she was assigned the weakest category, which was the Over 29s. Ayda then became the first judge to lose all her acts in her competition, with her final act, Danny Tetley, finishing 6th in the semi-final. Much to the fans' amusement, Ayda announced her quitting the show after 1 series, due to her busy schedule in early 2019. Therefore, Ayda Field is the worst X Factor UK judge.
14.Nick Grimshaw
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
13.Robbie Williams
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
•2018 (Groups) - Acacia & Aaliyah (4th)
Even before being assigned as a judge, Robbie was always close to The X Factor. He assisted some judges at the Judges' Houses stage (first Gary Barlow in 2011 and then Sharon Osbourne in 2013 and 2016), acted as a guest mentor to the finalists occasionally and did many guest performances on the results shows - even duetted with Olly Murs and One Direction in their respective finals. So when Robbie was announced as a new permanent judge for 2018 to replace Nicole Scherzinger, he was met with open arms, unlike his inexperienced wife, Ayda Field. In his series, he was assigned the Groups category, which made sense since he is the most famous member from a successful UK boyband. What else was bad was that Robbie missed 2 weeks of the live shows, due to tour commitments, which made many fans question his commitment as a mentor. He was temporarily replaced by music legend and guitarist, Nile Rodgers, who fans believed should have stayed as a permanent replacement. When he returned, he was able to guide his final act Acacia & Aaliyah to the semi-final, who missed out on a place in the final, after being eliminated by the judges in the sing-off against Scarlett Lee. Despite not having an act in the final (just like his wife), Robbie was able to duet with Scarlett on his song, "Angels", which helped her finish runner-up to eventual winner Dalton Harris. Despite not being the best mentor, Robbie will always be memorable and close to The X Factor.
12.Mel B
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
9.Rita Ora
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
•2015 (Girls) - Louisa Johnson (Winner)
Before Rita became a full time judge in 2015, she was a guest judge in 2012 at the auditions, before Nicole Scherzinger became the fourth permanent judge and enjoyed many of the acts, including Kye Sones, who sang one of her songs in front of her. When Rita was announced as the new full time judge, replacing Mel B in 2015, this received mixed reception from fans, especially since earlier the same year she was also a judge on the UK edition of The Voice, which is often depicted as a rival show to The X Factor. She was also the first UK show permanent judge to be born in the 1990s. Nevertheless, her reception was still far more positive than Nick Grimshaw, who also became a new judge in the same series. Her commitment to her job was often questioned, due to her missing a number of auditions because of scheduling conflicts. Luckily for her though, she was assigned the Girls category, the category all the 4 judges agreed was the strongest that year. Eventually, she was able to guide her final act Louisa Johnson, who is one of the best soul singers to the final. She even got to duet with Louisa, which contributed to Louisa winning the show and Rita becoming the winning mentor. Despite having a successful year, Rita decided not to return the following year as she clearly explained that her music comes ahead of being a judge for her and was replaced by Nicole in 2016.
8.Louis Tomlinson
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Acts (Placement):
7.Tulisa
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
•2011 (Groups) - Little Mix (Winners)
•2012 (Girls) - Ella Henderson (6th)
6.Nicole Scherzinger
•Year (Category) - Highest-Placing Act (Placement):
•2012 (Boys (Wanted category was Girls)) - James Arthur (Winner)
•2013 (Girls) - Tamera Foster (5th)
•2016 (Boys) - Matt Terry (Winner)
•2017 (Over 27s) - Kevin Davy White (3rd)
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May 6, 2020 · Tulisa Contostavlos was the youngest X factor judge judge during her time on the show in 2011 and 2012. Heart Little Mix went on to be one of the most successful groups to ever win the competition. But outspoken Tulisa appeared to lack chemistry with the other judges and later left the show.
May 22, 2023 · See every celebrity who served as an 'X Factor' judge or host during the UK show's 15-year run.
- Simon Cowell. This longtime judge is truly the heart and soul of any show he’s on. Just like with Osbourne, it’s hard to think of the X Factor UK without Cowell.
- Sharon Osbourne. It’s hard to think about The X Factor UK without remembering the most charismatic judge, Sharon Osbourne. This judge always knew hot to be fierce and put Simon Cowell in line at just the right times.
- Louis Walsh. Out of all the judges on the X Factor UK, Walsh remained on the panel the longest. Since he spent the most time on the panel, he knew the show better than any other judge.
- Nicole Scherzinger. This The Masked Singer panelist was one of the biggest icons on the X Factor UK judging panel. She proved that she was a powerhouse of a judge whenever she brought the energy to set.
