Simon Cowell brings this remarkably long-running series back to ITV screens this evening.
He will be joined at the judges' desk this year by Robbie Williams, Ayda Field and One Direction's Louis Tomlinson. And Sharon Osbourne will be part of the panel for the live shows too.
Dermot O'Leary is back as the host and that is always a relief. It takes a particular talent to generate enthusiasm and keep things flowing, although he was noticeable by his absence during last year's audition recordings. He tends to appear from time to time to congratulate or commiserate but that's about all until the Live Shows get under way.
Last year the Live Shows were ridiculously truncated and, after making so much effort to reach them, I felt sorry for contestants who then got only one or two nights' publicity as the numbers were severely sliced down to produce a final with what had to be regarded as indecent speed and economy.
Rak-Su deserved to take the prize, although we have not heard a great deal from them in recent months. Nor have Grace or Kelvin, the two acts competing in the Top Three, had much impact, despite producing most memorable performances on the show last year. Whereas once, getting to the top of X Factor more or less guaranteed a year of releases and their names in lights and on our radios, it is no longer a certainty that the temporary stardom will last long at all.
With Malta planning to enter their X Factor winner as the country's Eurovision act, could UK have something similar in mind? Rak-Su would certainly have given us a fighting chance in comparison to the pleasant but unknown SuRie.
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