Last weekend, I was watching one of my favourite TV shows the X Factor. However, I wasn’t watching as per usual from the comfort of my couch. No, I was sat in the audience at LH2 studios and I was sat next to Simon Cowell!? How did this happen? It wasn’t a “blogger perk”, the tickets weren’t given to me and I didn’t pay a penny for them! They were free. You can get them too.

Since even before I moved to London, I’ve been to a lot of these events. I’ve had tickets to Big Brother, Micheal McIntyre’s Big Show and of course The X Factor. Obviously, I’m a huge fan of TV and I am fascinated by TV production. I even have a degree in it. Still proud of that achievement. 

The X Factor is one of my favourite TV shows. I’ve been in the audience for the auditions, the six chair challenge and even the Live Tour (not free but a present from an ex). Last weekend, I got to add the live shows to my list.

I get asked a lot about how I get to go to all these amazing shows. The truth is anyone can apply for them. I got them through Applause Store. You can get tickets to lots of different shows including the X Factor.

How do they work?

You apply for tickets for any of the shows advertised on the Applause store website. Shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, Celebrity Juice or even Saturday Night Takeaway. They will select people for applied and you will received an email with the ticket instructions.

Yes, the tickets are free but even if you get a ticket it still doesn’t guarantee that you will get into the show. They give out more tickets than there are seats in the studio. Why? Because when you give you free tickets, not everyone turns up. People change plans and with no financial commitments there’s bound to be a few no shows. Have you seen a TV Show without a full audience? No. That would look weird. 

My best advice is to get there early. For the X Factor, they say to get there for 6pm. However, I arrived at about 2pm. They stopped letting people into the queue at 4:30-5pm as they had more than enough people in the queue to fill the studio. Not everyone from the queue got into the studio or even past security. 

They don’t just give out free guest tickets. The shows give out Production tickets too. Friends and family of the cast and crew. There are also journalists and celebrities that get VIP tickets too. They seat them first and we stand outside in the cold, praying after hours outside we will get a seat. Wrap up warm. It can get pretty cold. 

Once you’re in the studio, it’s great fun. For the X Factor, I sat behind Simon Cowell! He even came over and shook my hand. Fan girl moment. It also meant that we were on camera a lot. My friends were playing a game of trying to spot me on TV and during the break I had tons of pictures from them taking snaps of me on their TVs.  

During the ad breaks, there was a guy who’s job is the warm up the audience. He kept us entertained, gave us information so we knew what to do when we were live and did some dance competitions for guaranteed tickets. 

I absolutely love sitting in a TV audience. I think it’s a great and eventful night out. You also get the chance to be on TV, meet famous celebrities and be part of your favourite  TV shows. Yes, the queuing is tiring and hoping to actually get in can make you quite anxious but it’s a great experience for anyone who loves TV. 

Oh, one last thing. I was front row for Ed Sheeran’s performance, I didn’t have to sit at a computer waiting for his tickets to go on sale and I didn’t pay a penny. He’s so good live!!!

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Which TV Show would you love to watch live from the audience? Let me know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored or paid advertisement for Applause Store.

Natasha Atlas

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