A dozen years One Direction was created as a part of ITV’s reality show X Factor.
Now on their 12th anniversary, new unseen footage has been released showing the moment it happened, and who was largely responsible.
In the clip released on Twitter on Saturday, judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger are filmed trying to create both a boy and girl band from the show’s hopefuls during the boot camp stages in 2010.
One Direction had always been described as the brainchild of Cowell, but the unseen footage reveals it was actually Scherzinger who was responsible.
Pulling out a headshot of Niall Horan, Cowell says, "he should be in the group. I'm not saying we're going to do it, but I'd like to imagine it".
"Let's do an imaginary boy band instead of just saying no," replies Scherzinger.
Scherzinger then pulls out a head shot of Harry Styles and pairs it with with Horan.
"They’re the cutest boy band ever," she says.
"I love it. The little girls are gonna love them."
The judges later add Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne, officially forming One Direction.
"They have just the right look and the right charisma on stage, I think they’ll be really great in a boy band together," says Scherzinger.
"They’re like little stars. You can’t get rid of little stars, so you put them all together."
Watch the full video.
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