Robbie Williams and Olly Murs have signed on as guest mentors on "The X Factor" U.K. in 2013. Guest mentors on the show assist the judges during the "judges' houses" phase of the competition, when the judges and guest mentors select the contestants who will perform on the live episodes.
In 2013, "The X Factor" U.K. contestant categories are as follows:
- Girls (female solo singers ages 16 to 24), mentored by judge Nicole Scherzinger
- Boys (male solo singers ages 16 to 24), mentored by judge Louis Walsh
- Overs (solo singers ages 25 and over), mentored by judge Sharon Osbourne
- Groups, mentored by judge Gary Barlow
According to The Sun, Williams is paired with Osbourne for their "judges' houses" episodes, which were filmed at her home in the Los Angeles area. Williams was previously a guest mentor on "The X Factor" U.K. in 2011, when he teamed up with Barlow. Williams has been an on-again/off-again member of Barlow's group Take That.
In 2013, Murs teamed up with Barlow for a guest mentor role in episodes that were filmed in New York City, a according to Radio Times. Murs came in second place on "The X Factor" U.K. in 2009. He was a co-host of "The Xtra Factor" in 2011 and 2012.
An unnamed source told The Sun about filming at Sharon Osbourne's house: "Ozzy was at the house but he kept out of the way of filming,’ an insider told The Sun. He only appeared to have dinner with Sharon and Robbie and then scarpered. Filming has been held up by the pair of them laughing so much. There have been lots of giggles about anything and everything. It has left producers pretty frustrated as they are on a tight filming schedule and have got so much to get done before they leave.’
Although Sharon's husband Ozzy made himself scare during the filming, their son Jack was there, as was Williams' wife Ayda and daughter Theodora. It is unknown at this point how much of the family members will be featured in these episodes, whose air dates are to be announced.
As previously reported, Walsh got assistance in 2013 from guest mentors Nicole Appleton and Sinitta in St. Tropez, France. Radio Times is reporting that former Westlife singer Shane Filan also helped Walsh in a guest mentor role.
As previously reported, Scherzinger teamed up with Mary J. Blige in 2013 for the "judges' houses" phase of the competition for segments that were filmed in Antigua.
