Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of The X Factor. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and was that year's Christmas number one. It sold 313,000 copies on its first day of sales, making it the third-fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, behind Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" and Will Young's "Evergreen", which sold 685,000 and 400,000 copies in their first days of sale, respectively. Ward was the first X Factor winner to release an original song as his winner's single. His prize, as winner, was a recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco record label, which is co-owned by Sony Music. His eponymous debut album was released in April 2006. It debuted at number one on both the Irish and UK Albums Charts, going 4× Platinum in Ireland and Platinum in the UK. It spawned two hit singles: "No Promises" and "Stand by Me". The follow-up album, Breathless, featuring the top 10 hits "If That's OK with You" and "No U Hang Up", was released in November 2007 and topped the Irish charts, where it went 5× Platinum. In November 2010, after a three-year hiatus, Ward released his third album, Obsession. In contrast to Shayne Ward and Breathless, it underperformed with first-week sales of under 23,000, and missed the top 10 in both the UK and Ireland. In 2011, Ward was dropped by Syco. In 2015, he released a new album Closer as an independent artist, funded through PledgeMusic. In 2015, he began appearing as Aidan Connor in TV's Coronation Street as a regular character. He made his last appearance in August 2018. He made voiceover appearance on 22 October 2021. Early life Ward was born on 16 October 1984 in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England to Irish Traveller parents who settled in England. He attended St. Peter’s RC High School in Manchester. In 2002, he reached the final thirty of Popstars: The Rivals. Prior to his participation in The X Factor, Ward was in a band called Destiny with two women named Tracy Murphy and Tracey Lyle, performing at pubs, clubs and weddings. Career 2005-2008: The X Factor, Shayne Ward and Breathless In early 2005, Ward auditioned for the