Conflict between bands, conflict within bands, booze, breakdowns and awards-show agony: in these extracts from oral history Reach for the Stars, Five, Steps, Pete Waterman and more spill about the dark side of the decade

From Wife Swap to Big Brother to Towie, Sirin Kale has been a proud and passionate reality TV addict since her tweens. But as she delved deeper for her new podcast, she came face to face with its dark side

We’re in danger of the tight-faced vampire king carrying on as long as Bruce Forsyth. But even after all these years, his show’s dark alchemy will make you fully commit

‘It came out a year after I won The X Factor. I was worried people might have forgotten me, but the song became so huge I still can’t explain it’

With The X Factor now consigned to the dustbin of television history, Cowell is said to be releasing his inner Jeremy Clarkson with a motoring show. Haven’t we suffered enough?

(RCA/Columbia)
Liberated from Simon Cowell, Britain’s biggest girl band are free to make the music they want. But it sounds strangely familiar…

A messy and mystery-free relaunch of the classic animation tries, and fails, to update the formula, adding a charmless superhero spin