With summer already ebbing away, the dark mornings of the late autumn seem that much nearer with the return to our screens of X Factor. With the kids not yet back in school, the tabloids are already gearing up for the forthcoming feeding frenzy with the now customary tales of how X Factor has lost its way, needs 'reinvigorating' and is struggling to attract viewers.

Come what may, by the time Christmas rolls round, X Factor will once again be boasting huge audiences, grabbing all the headlines and crowning a new prince or princess of pop. Last year's winners, the four-girl Little Mix, are proof that from a messy, controversial and much-maligned series of the talent hunt can emerge proper pop acts with commercial appeal. Late last year they registered a No 1 hit with their debut single, a cover of Damien Rice's Cannonball. After a hardworking run of live shows and promo gigs, they finally released their second single, Wings, last week. This morning, it tops the charts and Leigh-Anne, Perrie, Jade and Jesy are becoming the latest winners to suggest their success may be more than fleeting. You can find out for yourself when the girls hit the road for a hectic schedule of dates in the New Year.

The tour kicks off in Nottingham on 28th January, followed by shows in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, London, Bristol and more, before the final date announced so far at the Waterfront in Belfast on Sunday 24th February 2013. With 20 gigs in well under a month, they'll be needing those Wings.

The London date is at the Hammersmith Apollo on 13th February and there's a quick trip into the Eurozone with a Dublin show on 23rd February. We'll have tickets on sale from 10am on Friday 7th September, priced from £19.50 - 20.50 for the UK shows and €35 for Ireland.