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Stevi Ritchie

Stevi Ritchie
Ritchie with Emma Bunton in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Steven Andrew Ritchie
Born	(1980-09-17) 17 September 1980 (age 43) Colchester,[citation needed] Essex, England
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actor
Years active	2014–present

Steven Andrew Ritchie (born 17 September 1980) is an English singer, reality television star and actor known for his appearances on The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother.^[1]

In 2014, Ritchie auditioned for eleventh seriesofThe X Factor, singing "Dance with Me Tonight". Mentored by Simon Cowell, he was not initially selected for the live shows, but Cheryl Fernandez-Versini chose him to be the Over 26s wildcard. After the eliminations of Overload Generation in week 1 and Jack Walton and Lola Saunders in week 4, Ritchie was the last wildcard left in the competition. In week 6, Ritchie was in the bottom two with fellow Over 26s contestant Jay James. Cowell and Louis Walsh voted to send Ritchie home, but Mel B and Fernandez-Versini who chose him as a wildcard act and had the casting vote, voted to send James home. This meant Fernandez-Versini sent the vote to deadlock and James was eliminated.^{[citation needed]} The following week, he was in the bottom two again with Andrea Faustini and was eliminated by the judges with only Cowell voting to send Ritchie through to the quarter-final, and Mel B, Fernandez-Versini and Walsh voting to send Faustini through to the quarter-final, and he was eliminated.^{[citation needed]} However, voting statistics revealed that Ritchie received more votes than Faustini which meant that if Walsh sent the result to deadlock, Ritchie would have advanced to the quarter-final and Faustini would have been eliminated.

Ritchie participated in the sixteenth seriesofCelebrity Big Brother with fiance, Chloe Jasmine Whichello. On 24 September, they reached the final on Day 29 and placed 5th.^[2]

In August 2015, Ritchie and Whichello appeared in an episode of Keep It in the Family. He also appeared in a celebrity edition of Channel 4 game show Benchmark in October 2015. He has made appearances on Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. He has also taken part in the CBBC game show Ultimate Brain.^[3] On 15 August 2016 Essex County Standard reported that Essex TV had commissioned a show hosted by Ritchie dubbed 'Stevi Ritchie Takes On Essex.'^[4]

On Saturday 4 November 2017 Stevi performed alongside Britain’s Got Talent star Paul Manners at Bridgwater Carnival.^[5][6][7]

In 2023 he became a calling host at Mecca Bingo Luton ^[8]

Ritchie and fellow contestant Chloe Jasmine Whichello began dating during their participation on The X Factor, and announced their engagement on 12 July 2015. Ritchie has a daughter, Summer, from a previous relationship.^[9]

In 2007, Ritchie trained as professional wrestler, having a few professional matches using the name "Steve Straight".