The X Factor (British TV series) series 2

The X Factor
Series 2
Ward performing during the Shayne Ward Live 2007 tour.
Hosted by	Kate Thornton (ITV) Ben Shephard (ITV2)
Judges	Simon Cowell Sharon Osbourne Louis Walsh
Winner	Shayne Ward
Winning mentor	Louis Walsh
Runner-up	Andy Abraham
Release
Original network	ITV ITV2 (The Xtra Factor)
Original release	20 August (2005-08-20) – 17 December 2005 (2005-12-17)
Series chronology
← Previous Series 1 Next → Series 3
List of episodes

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The second series ran from 20 August to 17 December 2005.^[1] Shayne Ward became the winner and Louis Walsh emerged as the winning mentor. The second series was longer than the first, with seven acts in each of the three categories going to the judges' homes, and 12 acts in the finals instead of 9. Kate Thornton returned as presenter of the main show on ITV and Ben Shephard presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, while Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Walsh returned as judges. 75,000 people auditioned for the series.

On the back of their performances and popularity in the competition, Ward (winner), Andy Abraham (runner-up), Journey South (third place) and Maria Lawson (8th place) landed recording contracts. Chico Slimani (5th place) also released a single which topped the UK Singles Chart.

Aired on 24 September 2005, the mentoring selection was made, with Cowell in charge of Groups, Osbourne with the 25 and overs and Walsh managing the 16–24s. The bootcamp stages were shown on 1 October 2005, and those who got through were taken to the "judges' homes".^{[citation needed]}