Perrie, 18, from South Shields has dubbed Jade Thirweall ‘Cutie Mix’, Leigh-Anne Pinnock ‘Fiery Mix’, Jesy Nelson ‘Swagger Mix’ and herself as ‘Boho Mix’.
Perrie, 18, from South Shields has dubbed Jade Thirweall ‘Cutie Mix’, Leigh-Anne Pinnock ‘Fiery Mix’, Jesy Nelson ‘Swagger Mix’ and herself as ‘Boho Mix’. xfactor.itv.com

X Factor contestants Little Mix have made history after becoming the first group to win the ITV talent show.

The girl group saw off fierce competition from fellow act Marcus Collins to seize the title following the finals held at Wembley Arena over the weekend

After the result was announced, members of the group, which consists of Jade Thirlwall, 18, Perrie Edwards, also 18, Jesy Nelson, 20, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 19, broke down on stage with their mentor, Tulisa Contostavios.

An emotional Thrilwall said: "We are just so so grateful and thankful to everyone who voted and to everyone backstage."

On their win, the 23-year-old X Factor judge Tulisa said: "I think I wanted them to win more than they did."

The runner-up was magnanimous in defeat and congratulated the singers by saying: "I'm very proud of myself but the girls deserve it - they've been amazing."

The band generated a huge following on the show, which just completed its eight series.

The two acts went head to head following fellow contestant Amelia Lily's exit on Saturday night.

While Marcus performed Jaclie Wilson's Higher and Higher and Wham's Last Christmas, Little Mix won the 10,000-strong audience over with their rendition of En Vogue's Don't Let Go and the traditional Christmas favourite Silent Night.

Media mogul Simon Cowell was amongst the celebrities who took to Twitter to congratulate the singers on their win.

He Tweeted: "Congratulations to @LIttleMixOffic. And Paula as you can see, groups can win this show!"

The group's first single, a cover of Damien Rice's Cannonball, was due to be released digitally on Monday and is tipped to be favourite for Britain's Christmas number one single this year.

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