The live shows began on 15 October 2005, and the final was broadcast live on 17 December 2005.
Results summary ;Colour key Act in 16-24s Act in Over 25s Act in Groups For the only time in
The X Factor history, a judge made an unforced decision to eliminate one of their own acts over another judge's act. Walsh was not required to vote as there was a majority. In Lawson's 2008 autobiography,
Life Starts Now, she revealed she had topped the vote the week before her elimination. According to voting figures published in the
Sunday Mirror, Lawson turned out to have received twice as many public votes as the Conway Sisters. Some of the voting results were also published in the same edition of the
Sunday Mirror, the full voting results of the sixth week, Dorsett turned out to have topped the fifth week, Abraham topped the first, third and sixth weeks and Ward topped the second week. Thornton said just before the winner was announced, that there was a 1.2% voting difference between Ward and Abraham.
Live show details Week 1 (15 October) • Best bits song: "
That's What Friends Are For" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Cowell: Chico Slimani – said that the judges had to pick the real talent over a "joke act", effectively backing his own act, Addictiv Ladies. • Osbourne: Addictiv Ladies – backed her own act, Chico Slimani, whose performance she said was more exciting. • Walsh: Addictiv Ladies – said that Slimani had the whole entertainment package.
Week 2 (22 October) • Best bits song: "
You Are Not Alone" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Cowell: Chenai Zinyuku – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, 4Tune. • Walsh: 4Tune – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, Chenai Zinyuku. • Osbourne: 4Tune – appeared to have a hard time deciding which act to eliminate, especially since she had previously eliminated Zinyuku at judges' houses in
series 1. Thornton told Osbourne that if she did not vote within the allotted time, the result would go to deadlock and revert to the public vote to decide who would be eliminated. At the last second, Osbourne said Zinyuku's name, but when asked by Thornton to clarify if she was voting to eliminate Zinyuku, she said that she was in fact voting to save Zinyuku.
Week 3 (29 October) • Best bits song: "
Amazed" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Osbourne: Phillip Magee – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Chico Slimani. • Walsh: Chico Slimani – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, Phillip Magee. • Cowell: Phillip Magee – he thought the public would want to see Slimani more.
Week 4 (5 November) • Best bits song: "
Wishing on a Star" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Osbourne: Nicholas Dorsett – said that Zinyku deserved her place in the competition more. • Cowell: Chenai Zinyuku – said that Dorsett had not been in the bottom two previously and deserved a second chance. • Walsh: Chenai Zinyuku – said that it was a tough decision to choose between his own acts.
Week 5 (12 November) • Best bits song: "
Didn't We Almost Have It All" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Osbourne: The Conway Sisters – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Maria Lawson. • Cowell: Maria Lawson – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, The Conway Sisters. • Walsh: Maria Lawson – went with his heart. Walsh's decision to eliminate Lawson caused controversy when Osbourne accused Walsh of being part of the "Irish Mafia", since both he and The Conway Sisters are Irish. Cowell, though backed his own act to eliminate Lawson, said that if he had to go with his heart, he would have sent his own act home. He felt they would not have a chance to win, and that Lawson had more talent and her elimination would be the first one that the public would disagree with. However, voting statistics revealed that Lawson received more votes than The Conway Sisters which meant that if the result had reverted back to the public vote, The Conway Sisters would have been eliminated.
Week 6 (19 November) • Best bits song: "
End of the Road" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Walsh: The Conway Sisters – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, Nicholas Dorsett. • Cowell: Nicholas Dorsett – backed his own act, The Conway Sisters. • Osbourne: Nicholas Dorsett – gave no reason. However, voting statistics revealed that Dorsett received more votes than The Conway Sisters which meant that if the result had reverted back to the public vote, The Conway Sisters would have been eliminated.
Week 7 (26 November) • Best bits song: "
You Raise Me Up" ;Judges' votes to eliminate: • Osbourne: The Conway Sisters – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Chico Slimani. • Cowell: The Conway Sisters – said that both acts deserved to be in the bottom two, but felt Slimani had an entertainment value and voted to eliminate The Conway Sisters despite them being his own act. This became the first time ever in the history of the show that a mentor decided to eliminate his own act over the act from another category. • Walsh was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
Week 8: Quarter-Final (3 December) • Best bits song: "
Hero" The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Chico Slimani, was automatically eliminated. After his elimination, Slimani reprised his performance of "Time Warp" as his exit song.
Week 9: Semi-Final (10 December) • Best bits song: "
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Brenda Edwards, was automatically eliminated. After her elimination, Edwards reprised her performance of "Without You" as her exit song.
Week 10: Final (17 December) • Themes: No theme; Christmas songs; song of the series; winner's single • Musical guest: Auditionees ("
My Way") • Finalists Best bits songs: "
One", "
Greatest Love of All" & "
Your Song" ==Reception==