So much for supposed British electoral apathy: the final of the X Factor just attracted 8m votes – that stands pretty good comparison to the last election where Labour received 9.6m votes and the Tories 8.8m (and most under 35s didn’t vote). Moreover most of tonight’s electorate will have paid to vote – and gladly because, unlike the last election, the X Factor final made you feel proud to be British.
It felt like a cross between the Last Night of the Proms and Mamma Mia: a real feelgood production that did tug the patriotic heartstrings of sentimental old fools like myself. The show isn’t about the music, just as Strictly isn’t about dancing. It’s about characters, their background and the dreams they represent.
Sure, there’s plenty to moan about: the padding, the commercials, the way Louis Walsh overdid the Obama references with JLS (presumably not named after the publication) and Cheryl Cole’s almost comic genuflecting to young Alexandra and the way our winner went to pieces every time she wasn’t singing.
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