Steven Andrew "Stevi" Ritchie is an English singer and reality television star, known for his appearances on The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother.
Career
2014: ''The X Factor''
In 2014, Ritchie auditioned for eleventh series of The 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 25s 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 25s 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. 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, finishing in 6th place.
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 4game showBenchmark 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. On 15 August 2016Essex County Standard reported that Essex TV had commissioned a show hosted by Ritchie dubbed 'Stevi Ritchie Takes On Essex.' Stevi often performs with Park Resorts Holiday Parks at their Cambersands Beach location. Stevi recently made a guest appearance at the ChrichMelex 2016 Awards Ceremony, joined by other X Factor Finalists from past seasons. On Saturday 4 November 2017 Stevi performed alongside Britain’s Got Talent star Paul Manners at Bridgwater Carnival.
Personal life
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. In 2007 Stevi trained as professional wrestler, having a few professional matches using the name "Steve Straight".