Stevi Ritchie Explained

Stevi Ritchie
Birth Name:Steven Andrew Ritchie
Birth Date:17 September 1980
Birth Place:Colchester, Essex, England
Occupation:Singer, Actor
Years Active:2014–present

Steven Andrew Ritchie (born 17 September 1980) is an English singer, reality television star and actor known for his appearances on The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother.[1]

Career

2014: The X Factor

See main article: article and The X Factor (UK series 11).

In 2014, Ritchie auditioned for eleventh series of The X Factor, singing "Dance with Me Tonight". Mentored by Simon Cowell, he was not initially selected for the live shows, but Cheryl Fernandez-Versini chose him to be the Over 26s wildcard. After the eliminations of Overload Generation in week 1 and Jack Walton and Lola Saunders 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 voted to send Ritchie home, but Mel B 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 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

See main article: article. Ritchie participated in the sixteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother with fiance, Chloe Jasmine Whichello. On 24 September, they reached the final on Day 29 and placed 5th.[2]

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 game show Benchmark in October 2015. He has made appearances on Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. He has also taken part in the CBBC game show Ultimate Brain.[3] On 15 August 2016 Essex County Standard reported that Essex TV had commissioned a show hosted by Ritchie dubbed 'Stevi Ritchie Takes On Essex.'[4]

On Saturday 4 November 2017 Stevi performed alongside Britain’s Got Talent star Paul Manners at Bridgwater Carnival.[5] [6] [7]

In 2023 he became a calling host at Mecca Bingo Luton [8]

Personal life

Ritchie and fellow contestant Chloe Jasmine 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.[9]

In 2007, Ritchie trained as professional wrestler, having a few professional matches using the name "Steve Straight".

Notes and References

  1. Web site: X Factor 2014: Contestant Stevi Ritchie changes name to stop confusion with porn star. Baillie. Katie. 2 September 2014. Metro. DMG Media. 20 October 2014.
  2. News: James Hill wins Celebrity Big Brother 2015 beating Austin Armacost into second place as the header. Agius. Nicola. 24 September 2015. Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 18 October 2015.
  3. Web site: Brain Factor! ‹ Series 2 ‹ Ultimate Brain.
  4. Web site: Standard. Essex County. He's back: X Factor star Stevi set to return to our screens in new show about Essex. Essex County Standard . 2016-08-15 . 2016-08-18.
  5. News: Everything you need to know about this year's famous Guy Fawkes Carnival. Taylor. Michael. 2017-10-05. somersetlive. 2017-10-10.
  6. News: X Factor and Britain's Got Talent stars coming to Bridgwater. Taylor. Michael. 2017-10-11. somersetlive. 2017-10-11.
  7. News: X Factor and Britain's Got Talent stars to entertain at Bridgwater Carnival. Taylor. Michael. 2017-10-23. somersetlive. 2017-11-21.
  8. https://www.instagram.com/p/CyObVQBtntc/?igshid=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg==
  9. Web site: X Factor couple Stevi Ritchie and Chloe Jasmine are engaged!. Rajani. Deepika. 12 July 2015. OK!. 25 August 2015.