In its 7 December 2010 issue , '' Heat '' magazine said series 7 of '' The X Factor '' had been the best series to date , citing many of the controversies , plus events such as Lloyd singing on a spiral staircase , Wagner 's " ludicrous " performances and Walsh likening Richardson to " a little Lenny Henry " , as moments that helped make it " the most deliriously , thrilling , controversial and demented yet . ... This was the year the biggest and best show on TV somehow got bigger and better . " Before the final , Digital Spy 's reality television editor Alex Fletcher listed his five favourite moments from the series . His favourite moment was Nhengu 's elimination , on which he said " No other show can make people so passionate , angry and feel like they really know the programme 's stars . With only approximately 30 minutes of screentime , Gamu had managed to capture the hearts of millions . Whatever you think of Simon Cowell 's programmes , you have to give them credit for achieving that . " The series won in the Most Popular Talent Show category at the 16th National Television Awards in 2011 , beating series 4 of '' Britain 's Got Talent '' , series 6 of '' Dancing on Ice '' and series 8 of '' Strictly Come Dancing '' . It was also nominated in the TV Reality Programme category at the 2011 TRIC awards , the Entertainment Programme category at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards , and the Best Talent Show category at the 2011 TV Choice Awards
16th
16th National Television Awards
The X Factor (British series 7)