Join Chi Chi Izundu as she looks back on the world of The X Factor, where contestants perform in front of celebrity judges to realise their dream. It’s a world of glamour and excitement, but also of hard truths, hard words and hard work. For our hopefuls, the first step is the audition process.

We go behind the scenes to look at how the process unfolds, and what staff and contestants remember about the beginning of their road to stardom. Offstage: Inside The X Factor captures the emotion, the excitement and the drama of the show and features some of the captivating characters that led to its enduring success. But it also looks beyond the glitz and glamour revealing how contestants and staff felt, the toll it took on some of them and what they say happened behind the scenes. 

Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producers: Rob Brown, Jo Adnitt, Lucy Burns, Joe Kent Editor: Clare Fordham Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Archive: The X Factor series 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 (Fremantle/Syco/ITV) Youtube/nats89