X-Factor / Chicken Dinner / 19 November 2007 /

Chicken Dinner tell us who will be crying into their glass of sherry come Christmas

For those still quivering after the horrors of disco week, X Factor has promised to be back to normal next Saturday. So relax, everything is going to be okay. But who'll have run away with the big showbiz prize by the time Christmas comes around?

Of the six remaining acts, Beverley [18.0] to win on Betfair, Hope who is [16.0] and Same Difference who are currently [15.5] will most likely be having an angry Christmas - weeping through a bottle of sherry, lashing out at the tree, bingeing on Quality Street. None will get through to the final. Spoiling things for Hope are revelations that they've been "entertaining" fellow contestants (first Leon, now Daniel) which makes them unpopular with voting girls. Their Saturday night outfits were revolting, and the giant at the back resembled a Marvel superhero. Their days are numbered.

As are Beverley's. Both 'artists' have featured in the bottom two, and no winner has ever been a bottom two'er.

Working against Same Difference is that groups don't win. The best they can hope for is to be this year's Journey South (third, series two), but they have more in kind with the MacDonald Brothers (fourth, last year). Either way, they will be joining Chico and Brookstein on depressing tours of Butlins before too long.

Leon, trading at [15.0)] is still looking like the dark horse. He's been a big sympathy character since he turned up to the auditions by himself - edited to be sweet, not sinister. His grim existence - mother a drudge, rubbish house, crappy job - will make voters feel sorry for him. Plus his performance at the weekend was surprisingly good. That said, only once have the top three featured two contestants from the same mentor (Leona, Ray, last year). A more likely top three would be Rhydian [1.61], Niki [7.2] and Same Difference.

Niki needs to get back in the zone. While Louis crows about how it's amazing that she used to be a dinner lady, that is exactly what she resembled on Saturday night with her attempts to 'go sexy'. Her strength is soaring through big powerful ballads, so she needs to unleash some Whitney to get back into contention. One good week and she could run things tight.

As for the one to beat, Minogue over-egged the pudding this week, and Rhydian may have alienated the fiercely homophobic swathes of middle England. While camp is a foundation of British entertainment, Rhydian's performance could have taken it too far, leaving Mr and Mrs Countryside Alliance disgusted by the gayness on their screens. Expect to see Rhyds playing 'normal' next week. His win isn't guaranteed, though, not yet.

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