Robert Allen
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The third series was broadcast on ITV from 19 August 2006 until 16 December 2006. Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. After the semi-final on 9 December, Cowell became the winning judge even though the series had not yet finished, as two of his acts, Ray Quinn and Leona Lewis, became the two finalists. Lewis won the series on 16 December, with Quinn finishing as runner-up.
Instead of the earlier red and purple colour scheme, this year's theme was red and blue. A new-look website for the third series was launched on 11 August 2006. The final on 16 December brought in the show's then-highest ever audience, with 12.6 million people tuning in (a 56% audience share), and 8 million votes were cast, with Lewis receiving 60%. Lewis released a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" as her winner's single, and it went on to become the Christmas number one on 24 December despite only going on sale four days before on 20 December. It ended as the United Kingdom's second best selling single of the year. In January 2007, the single was awarded platinum status by the British Phonographic Industry. According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 895,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of December 2012.
Lewis emerged as the most successful contestant to appear on the X Factor having sold over 30 million records worldwide as well as being the only former contestant to be nominated for a Grammy.
This was the last series presented by Kate Thornton and the last time Ben Shephard presented The Xtra Factor. It was also the last series with only three judges (excluding times when a judge was absent).
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