Another year of The X Factor will come to an end this weekend as one finalist is crowned series winner.
Boy band Rak-Su, Blackburn pub singer Grace Davies and French heartthrob Kevin Davy White will battle it out on the stage in the ITV contest in a bid to score a record deal from music mogul Simon Cowell.
With just hours to go before they take up their mics for the last time, fan favourites Rak-Su have already been tipped for the crown.
Check it out… @RakSuMusic's first ever #XFactor selfie! Look how far they've come! 😅😅😅 #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/qU9SN8Up2u
— The X Factor (@TheXFactor) December 1, 2017
Bookmakers Coral ended the week with 4-9 odds on a win for the Watford singers, while Ladbrokes offered 8-15 and claimed that one brave punter staked £5,000 on the group earlier this year – the company’s highest 2017 bet to date.
As the three acts prepare to perform once-in-a-lifetime duets with well-known artists, ITV bosses will be hoping the show attracts more viewers than last year’s final.
The 2016 showdown was watched by seven million viewers, according to overnight ratings, the smallest audience for any final in the history of the series.
Ratings for The X Factor final have fallen every year since 2010, when 17.2 million saw Matt Cardle beat Rebecca Ferguson and One Direction to win the competition.
The face of Grace! A Grace-face! Her first EVER #XFactor selfie! @gracedavies 😝😝😝 #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/nAjneeqWXi
— The X Factor (@TheXFactor) December 1, 2017
The series is also coming to an end earlier than ever before.
Traditionally the final has taken place in the middle of December to give the winner a chance to top the charts in time for Christmas.
However, both Davies and Rak-Su have promised fans that they each have a collection of fresh original material “ready to go” if they come out on top this weekend.
:: The X Factor continues on ITV at 7.05pm on Saturday.
