Twenty. There have been twenty judges on The X Factor over the years -that's if you count the odd guest judge here and there, anyway. It's fair to say some have been more loved than others, but the big question is: who is the best ever?
20. LEONA LEWIS
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Look, we love Leona Lewis. One of the best X Factor winners ever? Undoubtedly. But one of the reasons that we love her is that she's just so damn sweet, and that doesn't really work when you're telling every act: "That was so good." Leona belongs on the stage,not behind the judges' desk.
19. PIXIE LOTT
One thing you musthave when you're an X Factor judge is conviction. Perhaps this is something that Pixie would have developed had she been a full-time mentor, but she just didn't show enough backbone during her guest stint. In fact, she gave one (forgettable, not very good) act a nervous no -only to change her mind after being badgered by Louis Walsh. By Louis Walsh. If you can't stand up to Louis Walsh, you're toast.
18. GERI HALLIWELL
We have undying love for each and every single member of the Spice Girls. Unfortunately, fans weren't exactly impressed with Geri's guest judging,and even she has since admitted that she looks back and cringes. Whether it was the audience booing her decisions or the show itself making fun of her by mocking her chatterbox status, it just didn't quite work out for Geri. We still think she's iconic, though.
17. NATALIE IMBRUGLIA
Natalie could have been the worst guest judge in the world and it wouldn't have mattered -she presided over the auditions of a) Cher Lloyd and b) Ablisa, and for that she has most definitely gone down in X Factor history.
16. BRIAN FRIEDMAN
Oh dear, this is awkward. Brian was hired in something of a media circus after Simon Cowell was impressed with his performance on Grease Is The Word (all we'll say is that Sinitta was also a judge on Grease Is The Word, so where's her X Factor job?). Unfortunately, Si quickly realised he'd made a mistake getting rid of Louis and relegated Brian to the role of creative director. We can't help wonder whether some of his more, er, elaborate staging of performances since has been a way to get revenge on his boss…
15. ANASTACIA
Anastacia revealed after her guest judging role that she turned down a permanent seat on the X Factor panel -but what a shame, as she completely nailed it when she did appear. Emotional when she needed to be; blunt when she needed to be; joyful when she needed tobe;and all with some serious talent to back it up, Anastacia fit in perfectly. Fans clamoured for her to join the show full time, but now rumours have suggested that she could end up onStrictly.We'd be up for it.
14. ALEXANDRA BURKE
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After going through weeks of live shows as a contestant, Alexandra had clearly picked up some tips about this judgingthing and slid in nicely to the panel when Kelly Rowland was off sick. You can say what you want about her efforts, but you can't deny that people still today have a little smile when they think about her yell of "OK.com". And surely that's all that matters.
13. KATY PERRY
Pro tip: don't revisit Katy Perry's X Factor guest judging on YouTube because you will just get sad that she's never had that chair permanently. Katy's the perfect X Factor judge, really; funny, sweet, and with a wealth of knowledge behind her, she felt like a complete natural and had us howling. From swooning over attractive hopefuls to being witty about the ones that failed to impress her, she's only this low because she doesn't have a long enough X Factor tenure to back it up.
12. NICK GRIMSHAW
If there's one word to describe Grimmy's time on The X Factor, it's probably "divisive". We actually think he was like the Chris Evans of TXF -never really given a fair shot, not praised enough for his humour and spark. But the public never really took to him, questioning his credentials (as if hosting the breakfast show on Radio 1 isn't enough),and it took its toll on Nick, who noticeably deflated as the series went on. It's a shame -we think he deserved better.
11. MEL B
As with Nick, Mel is a bit of a Marmite judge, because let's be honest, she doesn't hold back. Blunt, sarcastic and dry, she always adds a welcome dollop of Tabascoto the X Factor Bloody Mary,but the question is what happens when she goes a bit too far. Still, Simon must think she impressed enough during her time on the show to invite her back to fill in for Nicole during an audition session this year -so strap yourselves in, because we can't imagine she'll be holding back…
10. RITA ORA
Rita did well during her X Factor guest-judging stint, but as with Grimmy, she struggled to really make her mark on the show as a permanent mentor last year. It didn't help that scheduling conflicts forced her to miss some auditions, but honestly she just never quite settled -though, of course, she did win the show with her act Louisa Johnson in a seriously gif-able moment. Perhaps we're being unfair, but we just thought Rita was more at home on The Voice.
9. GARY BARLOW
"You were aaaaaabsolutely fantaaaaaastic." If there's one thing a good X Factor judge needs, it's a catchphrase -and Gary certainly had one of those. But he could never quite shake the "boring"tag, partly thanks to his refusal to play along with Rylan. And when he did try to spice things up, it didn't exactly go that well ("fa*g ash breath", anyone?). The problem was that Gary had the difficult task of filling Simon Cowell's "grumpy"chair, and that probably held him back a little bit. Now, we're looking forward to seeing his own show Let It Shine-will he be a different style of mentor?
8. KELLY ROWLAND
Iconic if only for the time she missed a live show because she was unwell and Skype-d in spluttering just like the classic Mean Girls "cough cough I'm sick" moment. But Kelly was much more than that -she was funny and sparky, and brought some brilliant facial expressions to the table. And we remember her fondly even though she only lasted for one series, and even though she wasn't exactly dealt a great hand with her category. Who knows what would have happened if she'd been in charge of the Groups… and therefore Little Mix?
7. TULISA
It's almost bizarre now thinking about how Tulisa was plucked from N-Dubz to appear as a judge on the biggest show in the country, but boy, we're glad she was. Tulisa quickly became something of a favourite among viewers, because The Female Boss stood up for herself and her acts. And she knew what she was doing, too, shepherding her "little muffins" Little Mix to the win and setting them up for some serious success. But mostly we'll always love her for the moment she banged the desk at a rude auditionee and yelled: "I worked my way up from Camden Town and THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TODAY." Classic.
6. SHARON OSBOURNE
As with Mel, Sharon has always walked a fine line between being "honest"and being, um, "rude". She deserves a high ranking, though, because she is a) a classic X Factor judge who's popped back and forth to the show, b) shepherded Sam Bailey to the win, and c) most importantly, is absolutely bonkers. If Sharon's sole contribution to The X Factor was laughing so hard she walked into that door, she'd probably still be ranked this highly because it has given us such joy. That's without even mentioning her frequent swilling of her fellow judges and the time she cracked up so much at a Busted song's lyrics that she fell off her chair. Basically, if we're feeling blue, we know that Sharon on The X Factor can cheer us up.
5. CHERYL
We love Cheryl. If it was completely down to us, we'd consider popping her right up there at number one, but as with many X Factor judges, she's kind of divided viewers. We think Cheryl was actually a brilliant judge who knew how to bring the drama, rocked her big performances,and was a dab hand at mentoring her acts -plus her facial expressions on the show have always been a joy. Especially when she forgets how to use a straw.
4. 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. Still today we use her catchphrases -"No, baby, no" and "Inappropriate" being two of our personal favourites -and we frequently giggle about the time she was so eccentric during the live show that people wondered if she was drunk (she was just full of "disco spirit", apparently). Nicole brought us Rylan; she snatched the mic from Jahmene; she won the show with James Arthur… Now we can't wait to see what she's going to do next.
3. 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. She was fiery and fierce; heartwarming and lovely -and she didn't even have an easy time of it, with clashes with her fellow judges. Heck,she even managed to take Matt Cardle to the win over One Direction. She has to come back one day, right?
2. 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). But while you might moan about Louis, you all bloody missed him when he was gone last year, didn't you? Louis is a part of the X Factor furniturenow, and after bringing us iconic moments like inadvertently killing off Berry Gordy, we frankly feel like he should have earned lifetime job security.
1. 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. You can say what you want about Simon (who has, incidentally, softened since becoming a father), but he knows what he's doing. An expert television producer as well as a man with some serious musical knowledge behind him (even if it's not quite to everyone's taste), he's got a habit of spotting a star -and being ridiculous while he's doing it. The X Factor would be nothing without Simon -he just has to be our number one.
The X Factor will return to ITV later this year.
