Did Olly Murs win The X Factor? A look back at the year, fellow contestants and famous mentor

21 May 2024, 17:15 | Updated: 11 June 2024, 16:57

Olly Murs shot to fame after auditioning for ITV's singing contest but where did he finish? And who was he on The X Factor with?

It's been a big year for Olly Murs in 2024 already after becoming a dad for the first time and joining Take That on their latest tour of the UK.

With such big personal and career successes to brag about, fans of the 'Troublemaker' singer are taking a quick delve into his life and career which of course started with the famous talent show, The X Factor.

Auditioning in 2009, Olly, aged 40, once admitted to Heart's Dev Griffin his success on show all came down to him skipping the line after arriving so late they were about to close the gates to participants.

• Listen now on Global Player, the official Heart app: Take That: This Life

So did Olly Murs's amazing singing career begin by winning The X Factor? Who was on the show with him? And who was his celebrity mentor? Here's a look back at Olly's journey.

Did Olly Murs win The X Factor?

It wasn't overnight success like the show promises for Olly when he appeared on the show as he was actually a runner up.

Coming second, the 'Dear Darlin' singer was beaten to the winner's spot by Joe McElderry. This was also the year Stacey Solomon came third.

• Read more: Inside Olly Murs' fairytale fairground wedding with ferris wheel and private plane
• Read more: Olly Murs apologises for cancelling Glasgow gig with Take That after flight woes

But of course, Olly's talents weren't going to disappear that easily as it was less than a year later in August 2010 that he released his first single, 'Please Don't Let Me Go'.

He released his first album in November of the same year.

Olly Murs' X Factor Journey: From Audition to Final Performance | The X Factor UK

Who was Olly Murs on The X Factor with?

With Joe as the winner and Stacey in third, Olly also appeared alongside these hopefuls.

• Rachel Adedeji
• Miss Frank
• Jedward
• Jamie Archer
• Lucie Jones
• Lloyd Daniels
• Danyl Johnson
• Handy Rain
• Rikki Loney

Who was Olly Murs's mentor on The X Factor 2009?

In the Over 25s category, Olly was mentored by the main judge himself Simon Cowell. He was also joined by Sinitta when it came to judges houses.

Judges at the time were Louis Walsh, Simon, Cheryl and Dannii Minogue.