Don Your Way column: It's time The X-Factor was booted off our TV screens

Great excitement among many this week with news that auditions for The X-Factor are to be held in South Yorkshire next weekend.
Darren Burke thinks its time The X-Factor was given the axe.Darren Burke thinks its time The X-Factor was given the axe.
Darren Burke thinks its time The X-Factor was given the axe.

The infamous ITV singing show will be looking for new hopefuls with open auditions in Sheffield on May 19.

Apparently, it will be the 15th series of the show which plucks hopefuls from nowhere and projects them to stardom.

Well, for about five minutes in some cases.

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I’m well aware that the show gave us the likes of One Direction and Little Mix, but for every one of those, there’s a Steve Brookstein (remember him?)

And to be perfectly honest, I think it is a show that has now well and truly run its course.

It’s hard to believe that the show has been filling up ITV’s Saturday night schedules for the best part of 15 years now and like many channels, ITV seems content to allow it to continue for some time to come yet.

It’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t spending Saturday evenings casting our opinion on someone’s singing, dancing, ice skating or other talents.

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Dancing On Ice, Strictly, The Voice, Let It Shine, Britain’s Got Talent - the slew of reality TV talent shows has truly dominated the box and I for one am getting a little tired of the slow mo black and white tearful monologues about contestants’ ‘journeys’ set to a Coldplay soundtrack.

The format is the same tedious one year after year.

In the early rounds, genuine talent mixed with comedy trash that’s chucked in for the sake of cheap laughs.

Then there’s the pantomime booing and hissing as the judges have their say and then fake outrage as acts that should have got through don’t - at the expense of some camp bloke in pink tights who can’t sing, murdering something by Katy Perry or the like.

Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh trade scripted insults at each other and we’re supposed to care about these singers, who by and large, you’ll never see and hear from again once the shows have finished.

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Dream making it may be, but for many more, the dreams are dashed almost as soon as they’ve begun.

Fortunately, there’s a raft of other shows on other sides to tune in to and so its easy enough to avoid having to watch.

But such is the power of these shows, that they crossover onto the TV news and into the tabloids to the stage where its impossible to avoid, no matter how hard you try.

On the plus side, its keeping that shouty bloke who does the over the top introductions in work - “JEDWAAAAAARD!” and its always refreshing when the much lauded winners’ single doesn’t make the Christmas number one spot - Rage Against The Machine anyone?

For me, X really doesn’t mark the spot and needs, erm, a-xing.

Come on TV bosses, give us something fresh!