Chris Carter LOTS OF people look down on the X Factor TV show, seeing it as a tacky, stage-managed circus which serves little purpose. I must admit I m not best pleased to have the TV taken over every Saturday and Sunday night and look forward to it finishing. What th

Chris Carter

LOTS OF people look down on the X Factor TV show, seeing it as a tacky, stage-managed circus which serves little purpose.

I must admit I'm not best pleased to have the TV taken over every Saturday and Sunday night and look forward to it finishing.

What the show does though, is enable ordinary people to make names for themselves.

And our Stacey Solomon is a perfect example.

Stacey comes across as an ordinary girl, who can barely believe what's happening to her.

In the our pictures of the visit to her old school, King Solomon High, Barkingside, many of the photos show her somewhat awe-struck and a little embarrassed.

The children at KSH certainly made her feel like a star, with Beatle-like screaming (The Beatles were a popular beat combo in the '60s by the way) and pleas for her autograph and picture.

Of course, there are many competitors of TV reality shows who have sunk without trace, but they still enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame, as Andy Warhol had it.

We wish Stacey the best of luck for Saturday, but it seems certain her life will no longer be the same.

Should she win, Susan Boyle style fame beckons, while second or third will almost definitely get her a recording contract.

Who's laughing at Essex girls now?