Let the circus begin! The X Factor series ten kicks off... and the contestants are crazier than ever

PUBLISHED: 00:04, 31 August 2013 | UPDATED: 00:04, 31 August 2013

The X Factor returns for a tenth series on Saturday evening, and as we’ve come to expect from previous shows the opening episode will be filled with the usual assortment of talented, talentless and frankly comical.

With the audition process reverting to its original accapella format, hopefuls will be performing in a more intimate, but no less intimidating environment for judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and the returning Sharon Osbourne.

This time round it’s the prerequisite three yes’s that see them through to a further audition in front of a live and often merciless audience.

Dis-MAYed: Brian May lookalike Fil Henley does his best to impress the judges on Saturday evening

Hopeful: Fil, a 30-year-old guitar teacher who still lives with his parents, performs Let me Entertain You by Robbie Williams

Saturday’s show will see 36-year-old mother-of-two Sam Bailey, a Leicester based prison officer, reduced to tears after winning praise for her rendition of Beyonce’s Listen, with former Pussycat Doll Nicole telling her: ‘That’s exactly how that song is supposed to be sung.’

Elsewhere there are laughs when Brian May lookalike Fil Henley, a 30-year-old guitar teacher who still lives with his parents, makes an appearance with a round of sandwiches prepared by his mother.

Following a unique performance of Robbie Williams’ Let Me Entertain You he gets an appraisal from Sharon, who describes his eighties mullet as ‘business at the front, party at the back.’

Good fun: Welsh fitness instructor Jan is joined onstage by Nicole Scherzinger during her audition

Impressive: Prison officer Sam Bailey (left) and J Star Valentine do their best to win the judges over on Saturday

Double trouble: Duo Silver Rock take their place in front of the judges with a rendition of End of Time by Beyonce

Other hopefuls include J Star Valentine, a 19-year old student from London who performs Hallelujah, the debut single chosen for 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke.

Elsewhere there are memorable auditions from outlandish 35-year-old waiter Christian Grigore Spiridon, who performs Kylie Minogue hit Can’t You Out of my Head and Welsh fitness instructor Jan - who is joned onstage by Nicole after making an appearance in her gym clothes.

Other hopefuls include 17-year-old student Alejandro Fernandez-Holt, who offers a rendition of Perfect by Pink, and Greggs bakery assistant Hannah, who sings Read All About It by Emeli Sande.

Amongst the groups are London based duo Silver Rock, who perform a version of Beyonce’s End of Time.

Praying for a yes: Alejandro looks desperate during his audition on Saturday night

Original judge Sharon Osbourne’s return to the show follows a decline in ratings over the last two series,’ but the 60-year-old insists there is no pressure.

‘You know it’s not my thing… the ratings… I don’t care,’ she said at the press launch in London on Thursday. ‘It’s whether the show is good and the show is great! And that’s what it’s all about.’

The X Factor returns on Saturday September 31 on ITV1 at 8:00pm.