The X Factor: Celebrity kicked off with a mix of Love Island supergroups and moving tributes from Martin Bashir, but not everyone was entirely sold on the concept.
In the first episode of the series, judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Nicole Scherzinger were joined by a bunch of celebrity pals as a number of famous faces auditioned at Simon’s Malibu home.
So who impressed? The Chase’s Jenny Ryan proved the biggest standout, delivering a stunning cover of Queen’s Somebody To Love.
On the other end of the scale was duo Jeremy Edwards and Brendan Cole, with the former getting particularly bitter toward the judges after some negative comments.
Falling somewhere in the middle were the Love Island supergroup, comprised of Wes Nelson, Eyal Booker, Samira Mighty and Zara McDermott, with the former showing off his surprisingly decent rapping skills.
An unlikely highlight was Martin Bashir, who provided a touching moment as he revealed how his late brother inspired him to sign up for the show.
But how did the show go down with viewers? Some fully embraced the lighter, sillier tone.
Iâm actually enjoying #XFactor for the first time in years! #XFactorCelebrity ð¥°
— Hannah Morgans (@HannahMorganss) October 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/cde1993/status/1183127337304547328
https://twitter.com/X1_Tilly/status/1183127304094060545
Thoroughly enjoyed #XFactorCelebrity, even if Martin Bashir was the only face I recognised!
— Ros Dodd (@ros_dodd) October 12, 2019
Others however weren’t quite so sold on it.
https://twitter.com/Gracebarker94/status/1183105298397093893
This is so weirdddd ððð #XFactorCelebrity
— Shanaè (@shanaetia) October 12, 2019
Well that was bloody awful. This is not the route to go down. Talk about scraping the barrel #XFactorCelebrity
— Lindsay (@LindsayBint) October 12, 2019
#XFactorCelebrity this is sooooooo bad. Please cancel x factor and all Simon cowells shows. They have had their day .
— Julie Tucker (@mollykins64) October 12, 2019
Or maybe cringe is the way forward?
https://twitter.com/_AaronLong_/status/1183127349044363264
A cracking Saturday cringe.
This isn’t the only revamped version of The X Factor coming this year, with an all stars version featuring past contestants also set to air later this year.
The X Factor: Celebrity continues next Saturday on ITV.
MORE : Jeremy Edwards leaves viewers cringing on X Factor: Celebrity as he bites back at judges
MORE : X Factor: Celebrity viewers in tears over Martin Bashir’s emotional tribute to late brother
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