The X Factor finalists got their first taste of things to come after a session with none other than Robbie Williams. They were found at a Soho Hotel with A-list star last night, who was their mentor and guide for the first week of the finals. The hopefuls, including Jamie ‘Afro’ Archer, Danyl Johnson and Lucie Jones, were singing Robbie songs with a piano accompaniment, as he coached them and gave advice,  as reported by The Mail. The finalists – including Joe McElderry, Stacey Soloman and John and Edward – were spotted arrived for yet more rehearsals at the Southbank studios today.

Robbie has said he’s a huge fan of the show and will also be appearing live at the weekend to perform his new single Bodies. The 35-year-old already has his eye on one contestant – thought to be Olly Murs – and said: ‘There’s this one guy on The X Factor who is amazing. I think he could take my place. I’ve got my eye on him – he’s dead.’ He was joined by his girlfriend Ayda Field, and they both popped into Waterstone’s after the Soho Hotel where he bought a pub quiz book.

t has also been mooted that Madonna could appear on the show. Last year, X Factor mentors included Williams’s former Take That colleagues Gary Barlow and Mark Owen, and Beyonce. Williams announced last month that his first album in three years – Reality Killed The Video Star – will be released in November. He had been keeping a low profile after his previous album Rudebox failed to sell as well as earlier work. There has been speculation about Williams’s recording future because this is his last album under his current EMI contract. He recently caught up with Take That for a recording session in New York, prompting hopes of a full reconciliation for the band. Williams signed a five-album deal in 2002 for an estimated £80million, boasting that it had made him ‘rich beyond my wildest dreams’. The latest series of The X Factor is the most expensive yet, costing £1.5million a week. ITV is spending more in an attempt to turn the programme into a weekend-long event. Last year the show was estimated to have cost between £800,000 and £1million an episode. Production of this year’s live Sunday results show is thought to be costing an extra £400,000 a week. An ITV insider said: ‘The show has got bigger. It is one of our best rating shows and we want to keep viewers excited by it.’

Custom Search