What time does X Factor start tonight? Everything you need to know

What time does X Factor start tonight? Everything you need to know

Saturday night sofa dwellers rejoice, as tonight sees the return of the talent show to end all talent shows. That's right, the X Factor is back for a tenth series.

The voiceover guy's been brushing up on his hyperbole, Gary Barlow's been practising his deadpan, Dermot O'Leary has been shining his suits, and up and down the country eager crooners - old and young - have been practising their best Lady Gaga and Radio Gaga cover versions.

We can't tell you who'll win this year, whether it will be the year of the group or the over-25s, what we do know is that between now and Christmas Saturday nights will be filled with tension, tears, heartbreaking back stories, some terrible singing, some great singing and the sight of four narky celebrities having it out.

We can't wait.

C'mon then, what time is it on?

The launch show kicks off at 8pm on ITV1 this Saturday for 80 minutes, then you can switch to ITV2 for an hour of the Xtra Factor where Caroline Flack and comedian Matt Richardson catch up on all the big stories and gossip from the main show. We'll be live-blogging the lot, so join us for the fun.

What's new?

Plenty, although the basic formula remains the same. The biggest development is that original X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne is back on the judges panel for the first time since 2004. She's announced that this will be her and Louis Walsh's final year as a judges so expect plenty of outlandish showboating from the pair of them.

The new series will also see a return of the auditions format where wannabes perform their song with no backing track in front of the judges. In a small room. Those who don't get laughed out of the room will then face a second audition in an arena to prove they can impress an audience.

What else do we know?

The judges categories have already been revealed; Louis will mentor the boys, Sharon the over 25s, Gary h as the groups and Nicole Scherzinger takes care of the girls.

Anything special for the 10th year?

Oh yes. Expect performances and interviews with previous series winners and success stories throughout the series. Check out this official mash-up of previous winners to whet the appetite.

What does Dermot say?

Host Dermot O’Leary reckons that X Factor contestants need to be more like Strictly Come Dancing celebs and work hard to get the audience and viewers behind them. “Strictly’s a great show,” he said “and what they do so well is when it comes round to Saturday night you’re rooting for a person because you think they’ve worked hard all week. I think we need to do that more often because our contestants work really hard. The public engage with that. They don’t want privilege or a sob story.”

And Simon?

Not much, and as he's not a judge this year don't expect to hear much from him at all. He will be phoning the judges with his thoughts now and again though, just to scare the bejesus out of the contestants.

Best enjoyed with*

A healthy sense of humour

Earplugs

Kleenex

A bottle of Bell's

A finger over the mute button

Before Saturday night karaoke down the local

*Delete as applicable

Anything else?

Yes. Check out the series 10 trailer below.