Entertainment

Who are the stars of The X Factor: Celebrity?

The show will see 15 all-star acts compete for a record deal.
The show will see 15 all-star acts compete for a record deal. The show will see 15 all-star acts compete for a record deal.

A whole host of famous faces are warming up their vocal chords ahead of the launch of the celebrity version of The X Factor.

The show will see 15 all-star acts compete to impress judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger.

Her is a run-down of who is taking part.

OVERS

Jenny Ryan

Jenny Ryan
Jenny Ryan Jenny Ryan (Ian West/PA)

One of the chasers from ITV quiz show The Chase, Ryan has also competed on The Weakest Link, University Challenge and Mastermind.

She initially was hired to write the questions for The Chase, then later became one of the chasers in 2015 after fellow chaser Anne Hegerty recommended her.

Victoria Ekanoye

Victoria Ekanoye
Victoria Ekanoye Victoria Ekanoye (Ian West/PA)

The actress is best known for playing Angie Appleton in Coronation Street after arriving on the cobbles in August 2017.

She left Weatherfield in January 2019 when Angie returned to South Africa with her son George and Ekanoye will next be seen in the new CBBC adaptation of The Worst Witch books.

Martin Bashir

Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir Martin Bashir (PA)

Martin Bashir began working as a journalist in 1986 but made headlines around the world in 1995 for his BBC interview with Diana, Princess of Wales for Panorama.

In 2003, he conducted a series of interviews with pop singer Michael Jackson for the controversial ITV documentary Living With Michael Jackson.

He later moved to the US where he co-anchored the current affairs show Nightline on ABC before moving to MSNBC, where he served as a political commentator until 2013.

He has since returned to the BBC as the broadcaster’s religion editor.

Ricki Lake

Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake Ricki Lake (Yui Mok/PA)

While she is best known for her talk show Ricki Lake, which ran for 11 years from 1993, US star Lake first found fame in the lead role of Tracey Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray.

Since then she has appeared in a string of TV shows, including Charm School With Ricki Lake, and most recently she competed on the US version of singing show The Masked Singer.

UNDERS

Jonny Labey

Matt Crossick
Matt Crossick Jonny Labey (Matt Crossick/PA)

The British actor is best known for his role as Paul Coker in EastEnders.

He joined the cast in 2015 when his character fell in love with Ben Mitchell but was killed off in a homophobic attack a year later.

Labey then went on to win ITV’s Dance Dance Dance in 2017.

Megan McKenna

Megan McKenna
Megan McKenna Megan McKenna (Steve Parsons/PA)

The reality star rose to fame after appearing on Ex On The Beach in 2015, and then went on to feature in five series of The Only Way Is Essex.

She has also competed on Celebrity Big Brother and appeared on Celebs Go Dating.

After she left Towie she has forged a career as a country singer.

Olivia Olson

Olivia Olson
Olivia Olson Olivia Olson (Rich Lee/PA)

The actress is best known for playing the role of Joanna in Love Actually in 2003, where she was the love interest of Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s character Sam and sang a version of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Olson left the spotlight while she finished school but has lent her voice to the characters of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in Phineas And Ferb, and Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time.

She reprised her role of Joanna for the Comic Relief special Red Nose Day Actually in 2017 and released an album in 2018.

Kevin McHale

Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale Kevin McHale (Ian West/PA)

The US star is best known for playing wheelchair user Artie Abrams in the hit series Glee, starring opposite Lea Michele and Corey Monteith.

His first foray into music was in pop boy band NTL, who opened for The Pussycat Dolls on tour.

From 2014 to 2016 he hosted the British panel show Virtually Famous on E4 and has released solo EPs.

Hayley Hasselhoff

Hayley Hasselhoff
Hayley Hasselhoff Hayley Hasselhoff (Katie Collins/PA)

The daughter of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach, Hasselhoff has found success as a plus-sized model.

In 2010 she landed the leading role in TV series Huge and also featured in her family’s reality TV series The Hasselhoffs.

She has modelled since the age of 14 and recently released a plus-sized clothing collection in the UK. She appears on ITV as This Morning’s fashion expert around body positivity.

GROUPS

The Islanders

Wes Nelson
Wes Nelson Wes Nelson will be one of The Islanders (David Parry/PA)

Former Love Island stars Samira Mighty, Zara McDermott, Wes Nelson and Eyal Booker all found fame in 2018 on the fourth series of the ITV2 show.

Since leaving the villa, Nelson competed on Dancing On Ice, reaching the final earlier this year, Booker has appeared on Celebs Go Dating and Mighty has performed in the West End, while McDermott has worked on a number of projects that help engage young people in politics.

 Max & Harvey

Twin brothers Max and Harvey Mills, 16, first came to prominence on the social app musical.ly in March 2016.

They have released numerous original songs, toured and have been the subject of a CBBC documentary, My Life: Max & Harvey, which gave fans an inside look into their lives and career.

They now have their own show on CBBC, Max & Harvey: FOMO, and have published a book about their lives.

Try Star

Ben Foden remarries
Ben Foden remarries Ben Foden (Paul Harding/PA)

This trio is made up of rugby stars Thom Evans, Ben Foden and Levi Davis.

Evans is a former Scottish international rugby union player and model, although his rugby career was cut short due to a serious neck injury, Davis represented England internationally at under 18 and under 19s level, and now plays for Bath United, while Foden plays for Rugby United New York and has also played for England internationally.

Evans and Foden have also made headlines for their romantic lives, with Evans previously dating Kelly Brook, while Foden used to be married to singer Una Healey.

Cole and Edwards

Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (Matt Crossick/PA)

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole and actor Jeremy Edwards have been friends for more than 10 years.

Cole was a professional on the BBC flagship show was 15 years and has since appeared as a judge on New Zealand’s Dancing With The Stars, and as a guest judge on Britain’s Next Top Model.

Edwards is best known for playing heartthrob Kurt Benson in Hollyoaks until 1999, then Danny Shaughnessy in Holby City.

More recently he has starred in the CBBC series Millie Inbetween.

V5

The girl group is made up of social media influencers Sofia, Alondra, Laura, Wendii and Natalie.

They have a combined social media following of 11 million, with more than 250 million channel views on YouTube.