The thirteenth series began airing on ITV on Saturday 27 August 2016 and ended on Sunday 11 December 2016.
[1] Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for the ninth time to replace Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who left after series 12.
Matt Edmondson and Rylan Clark-Neal replaced Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom as hosts of The Xtra Factor, which was rebranded as The Xtra Factor Live and was broadcast live twice every week, with Roman Kemp making appearances as a digital presenter and social media reporter.
Matt Terry was announced the winner on 11 December 2016, making Scherzinger the winning mentor for the second time.
In a statement, Murs stated, "This was an incredibly hard decision to make and one I didn't take lightly as I've really enjoyed co-hosting The X Factor.
"[9] On 29 March 2016, it was confirmed that Dermot O'Leary would return to present The X Factor on ITV for the ninth time, after having quit the previous year, and said he was "very flattered to be asked back".
[10][11] On 27 June 2016, it was confirmed that Matt Edmondson will be the new host of The Xtra Factor replacing Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom.
[12] On 1 July 2016, it was confirmed that Rylan Clark-Neal will co-host alongside Edmondson,[13] and that Capital FM DJ Roman Kemp would be a digital presenter and social media reporter.
Auditions ran between 7 March and 30 April 2016, and visited Skegness, Sheffield, Aberdeen, Peterborough, Telford, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Sunderland, Nottingham, Middlesbrough, Leicester, Coventry, Ipswich, Scarborough, Chelmsford, Northampton, Southend-on-Sea, Hull, Milton Keynes, Essex, York, Isle of Man, Swindon, Portsmouth, Bognor Regis, Bristol, Blackpool, Preston, Weston-Super-Mare, Brighton, Newquay, Wigan, Truro, Hastings, Exeter, Margate, Yeovil and Maidstone.
121 acts were successful in this part, and the judges then deliberated to cut the number of contestants down further, to decide who would reach the six-chair challenge.
[31] At the end of Bootcamp, the judges discovered which categories they would mentor: Cowell was given the Girls, Scherzinger was given the Boys, Osbourne was given the Over 25s and Walsh was given the Groups.
Walsh was assisted in Ibiza by Fleur East and Alesha Dixon, Cowell went to Malibu with Mel B and Emma Bunton, Osbourne went to her Los Angeles home where she was joined by Robbie Williams, and Scherzinger went to Nice with Calvin Harris.
[42] Ivy Grace Paredes, who was originally selected as one of Osbourne's over-25s at the six-chair challenge, withdrew from the competition because her visa would not be issued in time,[43] and she was replaced by Honey G.[44] Four more acts were chosen as wildcards to go to judges' houses.
In a statement released by the official website to confirm their exit, Josh Brooks said, "Due to events in my personal life I've decided that it's best not to be on the show at this time.
Speaking of their second chance in the competition, the girls said that they "are so excited to be back" and "looking forward to performing live, working hard and showing everyone what they are made of".
At the time of the episode airing, many viewers were disappointed that they were not chosen and he stated that he'd "listened to the fans" and was "delighted to be bringing the girls back.
It is the sixth year running that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has waived VAT on The X Factor's winner's single.
[99] Just hours before the first live show, duo Brooks Way, consisting of twin brothers Kyle and Josh Brooks, were suspended from the competition, over allegations that Josh had been violent with his ex-girlfriend Amelia Clark, allegedly breaking her nose and kicking her in the face during a New Year Eve party earlier in the year.
Kyle and Amelia came to Josh's defence, saying respectively that the allegations were false and that they were written by a friend and fan who chose to exploit from the show.
During the broadcast, presenter Dermot O'Leary acknowledged the brothers' absence stating that it was due to "circumstances that have arisen".
The following Monday, the duo released a statement saying that they were withdrawing from the competition, from "mutual consent" with the producers, whilst denying the "false allegations" and saying that "truth always wins".
[103] The X Factor were forced to deny that the competition was fixed when nightclub Kittys & Kandy, in Kirkcaldy, posted on Facebook that Honey G would be performing there on 10 December 2016, the same night as the show's final.
"[104] Several viewers suspected that the jukebox wheel was rigged after it selected "Fright Night" for the theme for week 4, two days before Halloween.
Isobel Mohan from The Daily Telegraph claimed this was unfair and gave an advantage to those performing first and turned it into a popularity contest instead of a talent show.
[109] Ofcom received five complaints from viewers after Gifty Louise was heard swearing when she said, "I fucking told you" during the third live results show, when Sam Lavery was announced as the first act through to the following week.