Hands up who is excited about the start of this year’s X Factor series on Saturday?

Well, we are, and in the hustle and bustle of all the run up excitement, it has now been revealed that this year’s grand final will be held in Manchester this year, as opposed to London’s Wembley like last year, according to the Mirror newspaper.

Last year the final was held for the first time on the big stage at Wembley, but was so popular that bosses of the hit ITV talent show have decided to hold this year’s final, in December, in Manchester Central this time, seemingly leaving the days of the Fountain Studios, where the final had been held previously for many years, behind it!

Judge Louis Walsh said: “Our Live Final is going to be another major event – so The X Factor 2012 has everything.

“I believe it’s going to be our best series yet.”

Of the 11,000 seats available at the venue, formerly known as GMEX, half will be allocated to customers of the show series and final, Talk Talk.

The new series begins on Saturday with a 75-minute launch show at 8pm.

According to the paper, new rules in place this year will mean that no artists with previous industry experience will be permitted to enter, whether they are amateur artists, have had previous deals or currently have a management contract, which could cause an issue for one contestant, Jaya, who we reported has got through to the judges house stage despite having toured with Tinie Tempah, Peter Andre and even judge Tulisa.

The X Factor can be seen on Saturday night at 8pm on ITV1/ITV1 HD.