Steven Andrew Ritchie (born 17 September 1980) is an English singer, reality television star and actor known for his appearances on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' and ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the ''Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguests ...

''.

Career

2014: ''The X Factor''

In 2014, Ritchie auditioned for eleventh series of ''

'', singing "

Dance with Me Tonight "Dance with Me Tonight" is a single by English singer-songwriter Olly Murs, taken from his second studio album, '' In Case You Didn't Know''. It was released as the album's second single on 18 November 2011 and was written by Murs, Claude Kelly ...

". Mentored by

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and '' Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

, he was not initially selected for the live shows, but

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars ...

chose him to be the Over 26s wildcard. After the eliminations of

Overload Generation ''The X Factor'' is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eleventh series began airing on ITV on 30 August 2014 and finished on 14 December 2014. Dermot O'Leary presented his eighth series of the main show on IT ...

in week 1 and Jack Walton and

Lola Saunders ''The X Factor'' is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eleventh series began airing on ITV on 30 August 2014 and finished on 14 December 2014. Dermot O'Leary presented his eighth series of the main show on IT ...

in week 4, Ritchie was the last wildcard left in the competition. In week 6, Ritchie was in the bottom two with fellow Over 26s contestant Jay James. Cowell and

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

voted to send Ritchie home, but

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

and Fernandez-Versini who chose him as a wildcard act and had the casting vote, voted to send James home. This meant Fernandez-Versini sent the vote to deadlock and James was eliminated. The following week, he was in the bottom two again with

Andrea Faustini Andrea Faustini (born 17 June 1994) is an Italian singer. He is best known for his role as a contestant on the eleventh series of '' The X Factor'' in 2014. In 2015, Faustini released his debut studio album, ''Kelly'', which peaked at number 14 ...

and was eliminated by the judges with only Cowell voting to send Ritchie through to the quarter-final, and Mel B, Fernandez-Versini and Walsh voting to send Faustini through to the quarter-final, and he was eliminated. However, voting statistics revealed that Ritchie received more votes than Faustini which meant that if Walsh sent the result to deadlock, Ritchie would have advanced to the quarter-final and Faustini would have been eliminated.

Performances during the show

2015: ''Celebrity Big Brother''

Ritchie participated in the sixteenth series of ''

'' with fiance,

Chloe Jasmine Chloe-Jasmine Whichello also known as Chloe Jasmine, was an English singer and model best known for participating in the Sky Living modelling show ''The Face'' in 2013 where she was mentored by Naomi Campbell, and the eleventh series of ''The X ...

Whichello. On 24 September, they reached the final on Day 29 and placed 5th.

Other appearances

In August 2015, Ritchie and Whichello appeared in an episode of '' Keep It in the Family''. He also appeared in a celebrity edition of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

game show ''

Benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...

'' in October 2015. He has made appearances on '' Good Morning Britain'', ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

'', ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...

'' and ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

''. He has also taken part in the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

game show ''

Ultimate Brain ''Ultimate Brain'' is a British game show on CBBC about science. It is hosted by Duncan Wisbey as Dr. Brain, a monkey scientist and stars Imran Yusuf as Guinea Pig (also known as GP). Series 1 began on 26 June 2014, series 2 began on 15 August ...

''. On 15 August 2016

Essex County Standard The ''Essex County Standard'' is a weekly newspaper, published in Colchester, Essex. In August 2019 Newsquest announced it would no longer subscribe to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the body that provides independently verified circulation f ...

reported that Essex TV had commissioned a show hosted by Ritchie dubbed 'Stevi Ritchie Takes On Essex.' Stevi often performs with Park Resorts Holiday Parks at their Cambersands Beach location. Stevi recently made a guest appearance at the ChrichMelex 2016 Awards Ceremony, joined by other X Factor Finalists from past seasons. On Saturday 4 November 2017 Stevi performed alongside Britain’s Got Talent star Paul Manners at Bridgwater Carnival.

Personal life

Ritchie and fellow contestant

Whichello began dating during their participation on ''The X Factor'', and announced their engagement on 12 July 2015. Ritchie has a daughter, Summer, from a previous relationship. In 2007, Ritchie trained as professional wrestler, having a few professional matches using the name "Steve Straight".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Stevi 1980 births Living people Game show contestants The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Musicians from Colchester Actors from Colchester