X-factor finalists revealed

The nine acts that will compete to win a 1 million record deal on the reality TV game show X Factor have been revealed today.

11:55 11 October 2004

The nine acts that will compete to win a 1 million record deal on the reality TV game show X Factor have been revealed today.

The remaining artists will now face the public vote in a series of live televised contests that will eventually eliminate all but one of them.

Each of the programme's three judges has been allowed three choices to go through to face the public.

Louis Walsh chose the bands G4, an opera-style band, Voices with Soul - a mother, sister and daughter combination - and 2 To Go, which is made up of blind singer Peter Jones and his friend Emma Paine.

Simon Cowell's decided that he would select former Happy Mondays backing singer Rowetta Stachell, Steve Brookstein, 35, and 50-year-old Verity Keays, whose ex-husband stopped her accepting two record deals, to go through in the over-25s category.

Sharon Osbourne chose solo artists in the 16-24 category - she went for Tabby Callaghan, Roberta Howett, both 23, and Cassie Compton, 17.

"Louis loved the bands and he's convinced one of them could go on to win. The other judges are very confident too," an insider told the Daily Mirror.

Each week acts will perform live on ITV1. The shows will be themed, with the contestants required to sing covers of songs from artists like The Beatles and the Bee Gees.

At the end of each programme the public will choose their favourites and the act with least votes will leave the competition.

The series will climax in December - giving the winner a shot at becoming the Christmas No1.