X Factor 2009 stars now – race row, Simon Cowell rant and Katie Price fling rumours

The sixth series of The X Factor was won by Joe McElderry in 2009.

Simon Cowell, Cheryl, Dannii Mingoue and Louis Walsh were on the judging panel.

Dermot O’Leary presented the main show and The Xtra Factor was hosted by Holly Willoughby, while for the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience.

Following initial auditions, the bootcamp stage took place where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24.

The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the “judges’ houses” stage and throughout the finals.

During judges’ houses, the 24 acts were reduced to twelve, who went on to the live finals, with one act being eliminated each week by a combination of public vote and judges’ decision until a winner was found.

The acts performed every Saturday night with the results announced on Sundays.

This was change of format from previous series in which the results were announced later on the Saturday evening.

As winner Joe turns 31, Daily Star has taken a look into the lives of the stars who appeared on the ITV singing competition almost 13 years ago.

Joe McElderry

Joe won crowned the winner of X factor series six with over 60% of the vote.

The singer has gone to become a West End star and is set to tour the UK this year performing songs best the late George Michael.

Things haven’t been plain sailing for the Geordie lad since wining the show.

He appeared in court in 2012 to see Ennis McBride convicted of harassment.

McBride was given a restraining order banning him from contacting Joe and his mum Eileen Joyce after months of intimidation and abuse.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sunday at the time, Joe told how he was “unnerved” by twisted McBride.

He said: “It has been hard to deal with and it has been going on for a few months so I’m relieved it’s all over.

“It’s not nice when you are trying to go out to meet fans and do your job and you have that worry hanging over you.

“I’d never thought about my safety before this happened.”

Olly Murs

Olly came second to Joe and quickly became one of the biggest pop stars in the country.

As well as singing, Olly has tried his hand at being a coach on The Voice UK and as well as presenting.

The Dance With Me Tonight singer revealed he was left suffering from depression after flopping as an X Factor host.

He took over presenting the show from Dermot O’Leary alongside the late Caroline Flack in 2015, but after a string of gaffes and public backlash, they lasted just one series.

He told Daily Star at the time: “I was dealing with the pressures of this industry when I was first in the public eye. It’s not easy for anyone. And I’ve gone through worse since then.

“When I was on X Factor with all the stuff that happened it was intense.

“There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders hosting at the time what was the biggest show on TV.

“It wasn’t serious depression but I had a difficult time. It could have got a lot worse.”

Stacey Solomon

Stacey wowed the national with her vocals and got to sing with Michael Bublé in the X Factor final.

Since her stint in the competition, the TV personality has become a panelist on ITV daytime show Loose Women and was crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

She’s been busy over the past few months preparing for her wedding to ex-EastEnders actor Joe Swash.

The pair, who have been dating since 2016, are reportedly getting married next month.

They had to apply for a licence, but Joe and Stacey will now be getting married in their garden at Pickle Cottage surrounded by their nearest and dearest.

Stacey has also said her guests will be eating underneath a thatched roof barn area in the garden, which will be followed by karaoke.

Lloyd Daniels

Lloyd was a big hit when he took part in The X Factor, however, he’s since revealed he felt forced to hide his first gay relationship from the public.

Speaking in July 2020, he said: “I met someone on the show and we really clicked. I’d never had that emotion towards guys.

“I knew it was more than a friendship and it slowly unfolded. I ended up being with them for over a year.

‘The hardest part about it was not being able to talk about it.”

“I won’t say I was under oath, but to that somewhat extent I couldn’t talk about it because of my status.

“I had to aim my marketing towards teenage girls, that was what was going to sell the whole ‘Lloyd Daniels, X Factor self’.

An X Factor spokesperson said at the time: “Duty of care to our contestants is of the utmost importance to us.

“We take welfare very seriously and have measures in place to ensure that they are supported.”

Rachel Adedeji

Rachel was mentioned by Danni during her time in the competition.

A little known fact about the singer-turned-actress is that she actually applied to appear on The X Factor one year before making it to the live shows.

She made it to boot camp in series five but failed to impress Simon and the panel – and so was not taken forward to judges houses.

Rachel appeared in Channel 4 Hollyoaks as Lisa Loveday for four years before quitting the show in 2020.

The TV star blasted Hollyoaks over its “disappointing” approach to the Black Lives Matter movement before her departure was announced.

She then listed racial injustices she claims to have encountered on set.

Lime Pictures later release which said: “It’s clear we have more work to do”.

Show bosses also outlined a list of pledges it will stick to in a bid to “stamp out implicit bias”.

Jedward

John and Edward Grimes, otherwise known as Jedward, have been ranked as the fifth most financially successful former X Factor UK contestants.

Despite finding fame on X Factor with their trademark gravity-defying hair., the twins haven’t spoken to kindly about boss Simon Cowell since leaving the show.

Last year, a message on Jedward’s Twitter account read: ‘”The biggest regret in life was not telling the judges on X Factor to f*** off.

“Every contestant on the X Factor was a slave to the show and got paid Zero while they made millions!

“The fact that every contestant has to act like their judge mentors them! When in reality all they care about is their pay check!”

Another added: “Simon Cowell thinks he’s the Mafia leader of the music industry when in reality he’s nothing but a bad facelift.”

Jamie ‘Afro’ Archer

Rocker Jamie was part of the Over 25s category and was mentored by Simon.

He became a fan favourite after belting out King Of Leon’s hit Sex on Fire during his audition.

The rocker was forced to deny rumours he was flirting with former glamour model Katie Price on a night out.

He told The Sun: “She’s obviously an attractive woman but she’s not really my type, to be honest.

“I didn’t flirt with her or see her in a romantic way.”

He looks exactly the same these days and is still making music.

Jamie has been releasing music on his YouTube and SoundCloud channels over the past few years and keeps fans up to date on social media.

Lucie Jones

Welsh songstress Lucie’s exit from the ITV show received 3,000 complaints that the result has been fixed.

She was sent home following a deadlock vote against Jedward.

In September 2017, Lucie married her fellow X Factor contestant sweetheart Ethan Boroian, eight years after they first met at the auditions.

The couple wed in a small ceremony in Wales, exchanging vows in an emotional service.

The West End singer, who wore an ivory tulle gown for the occasion, told Hello! magazine at the time: “As soon as I saw Ethan, looking so dashing in his blue wedding suit, I started to well up.

“Then the male voice choir started to sing our song, God Only Knows by The Beach Boys, and an overwhelming feeling of intense emotion came over me.

Lucie is now a West End star and has appeared in several stage shows over the past decade.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk