Oh God, it had to start sometime, didn't it? Although X Factor is still in the fun 'laugh at the borderline disabled' part of the series, soon enough it's all going to start getting very serious, and that's what we're here for.
In a few weeks, X Factor is going to stop spitting desperate freaks at you to claw apart and start introducing the 12 singers who'll suck up all your pocket money in text votes before you buy their first single and realise that actually they were a bit rubbish all along really. Now, we don't know who these singers will be – whether they're the actual talented singers or the single mothers with the self-pitying sob stories – but we do know that the X Factor managers will be the same as they are every year. So now's a clever enough time to start looking at their betting odds. Thank us later, seriously.
Here are the X Factor winning manager betting odds for Louis Walsh…
Louis Walsh – Ah, dear little Louis Walsh. What a charming little Irish pixie he is, and never short of making up a massive lie, like the one about Westlife duetting with Michael Jackson, in order to sell a few more singles. Don't forget that Louis Walsh won X Factor last year with Shayne 'three crap singles in a year and nothing' Ward, so he's riding on a rare wave of success. However, this year Louis Walsh has been lumped with over-25s category, which is usually made up of a handful of contestants who can sing but look a bit weird, like Prawny Andy from last year's series. Louis has an uphill battle on his hands this year, but remember that an over 25er won X Factor a couple of years ago. Granted, we can't remember his name, but he still won it. The real thing you should be asking, though, is how long will it take for Louis Walsh to threaten to leave X Factor like a big girly ninny. Current X Factor betting odds – 15/8
Tomorrow – the X Factor betting odds for Sharon Osbourne
[story by Stuart Heritage]