Daniels duo fail to keep judges spellbound

Magician Paul Daniels and his wife and assistant Debbie McGee became the first celebrity crooners to be voted off the new X Factor show tonight.

Judge Sharon Osbourne cast the decisive vote in a showdown between the couple and You Are What You Eat host Gillian McKeith.

But the pair’s version of Robbie Williams’ hit, Let Me Entertain You lacked enough magic to keep them in the running for the X Factor: Battle Of The Stars crown.

The new version of the popular ITV1 show, which began tonight and will run every night until next Monday, featured performances of varying tunefulness from nine celebrity groups and solo singers.

Sharon Osbourne is coaching the three 16 to 24-year-olds – glamour model Michelle Marsh, ex-Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, and England and Bath rugby player Matt Stevens.

Pop mogul Louis Walsh is mentor for the over-25s – McKeith, former EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin, and loudmouth Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles.

Sharon commented on Lucy’s bravery for taking part in the show while pregnant. The soap actress performed Corinne Bailey Rae’s Put Your Records On tonight.

Simon Cowell is in charge of he three groups, including Daniels and McGee.

A group made up of celebrity chefs Aldo Zilli, Paul Rankin, Ross Burden and Jean-Christophe Novelli – dubbed “Bake That” by Sharon – sang Uptown Girl.

The final contestants are reality TV veterans James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos, respectively famous for kiss-and-tell stories about Diana, Princess of Wales and footballer David Beckham.

The celebrities are raising money for their nominated charities by appearing on the show.