The X Factor UK Celebrity Edition: Is it really happening?
There are some things that we never quite anticipated ever seeing on TV, and an X Factor UK Celebrity Edition is one of them. Why in the world would ITV want to do something like this? You know that it’s going to be campy, and it’s probably going to feature people with gigantic egos who think that they can sing … even if they don’t have any business doing so.
Yet, maybe this is why the network wants this in the first place — it’s an opportunity to put famous people on television for the judges to relentlessly mock. It’s a little weird to do this while The X Factor itself is in a little bit of a ratings downturn, but it seems like we’re getting it regardless. As a matter of fact, there are some rumored names already out there! Per The Mirror, you could be getting a group of contestants from Love Island, former The Masked Singer contestant Ricki Lake, the incomparable John Barrowman, and (hilariously) Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams. If this leads to watching David serenade Simon Cowell for hours on end, it could be the funniest show on television.
All of this feels like some sort of weird April Fools’ Day gag, but it’s actually happening — and it’s coming on the air later this year. The contestant are not confirmed, but there’s going to be episodes filmed for it soon. There’s a window here in between where the show is now and when America’s Got Talent films its live shows and that seems to be something that Simon Cowell is ready to take advantage of if he can. There is also talk of there being a Champions edition of X Factor coming up similar to America’s Got Talent: The Champions, and then also The X Factor itself.
The only way we do foresee a Celebrity version working is if there is some sort of way in which the tone is shifted slightly to suit the talent. The regular version of The X Factor does at times take itself too seriously, and it doesn’t give anyone the breathing room to actually settle in and have any fun. That’s something that is sorely needed.