Simon Cowell has been revealing some behind-the-scenes secrets from Britain’s Got Talent, explaining that Amanda Holden was actually Cheryl’s replacement on the judging panel, and that now, she’s here to stay.


Copyright [Tom Dymond/ITV]

Chatting to the Radio Times, Simon revealed that Cheryl originally signed up to sit on the BGT panel when the show started in 2007, but after she pulled out at the last-minute, Amanda was drafted in as her replacement - and the rest, as they say, is history.


He explained: “Cheryl [Fernandez-Versini] was supposed to be in Amanda’s place, but with days to go she backed out. We called ITV and they suggested two people — one was Amanda and the other was a girl on Corrie. Now I couldn’t imagine doing the show without Amanda.

“She enjoys every minute of it, never gets fed up, is easy to work with and is the voice of the public.”

Another day, another X Factor rumour – and this time, it’s all about the woman you’d thought left the X Factor for good.

Grande dame of the show Sharon Osbourne is apparently all set to return – if we’re supposed to believe the latest set of claims.


Copyright: [Rex]

According to those telly-watching folk over at the Radio Times, Shazza has repaired her relationship with Simon Cowell – with the pair now getting on like a house on fire.

And after Nick Grimshaw quit the judging panel after just one series, it means there’s a spare seat at the table – with some believing that it’s Sharon’s to take.


Copyright: [Rex] 

After appearing in the ‘Who Shot Simon Cowell?’ skit on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, a source close to Sharon said:

“Simon and Sharon have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship. Her doing that maybe suggests they’re building bridges.”


Former judge Louis Walsh has been vocal about re-instating Mrs Osbourne on the show, and recently said that a panel that included himself, Sharon, Nicole Scherzinger and Simon would be his 'dream line-up’.

A married couple from Belfast wowed David Walliams to become the third Golden Buzzer act on Britain’s Got Talent.

Ian Marshall, 64, and his wife Anne, 61, put their own spin on Crazy In Love by Beyonce.

The duo enthralled David and fellow judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden with their unconventional performance.

After David hit the Golden Buzzer, which gives the couple an automatic place in the live shows, he headed to the stage.


“I think you really are the spirit of Britain’s Got Talent, the pair of you,” he told them.

“You spend your whole lives doing something else, you’ve got this beautiful relationship and you did a Beyonce song for no apparent reason.”

Simon said: “I just knew David was going to do that, but actually, for once, I get it.”

The couple, who met while serving in the army and have now been married for 44 years, said the Beyonce hit sums up how they feel about each other.


“We’ve come to Britain’s Got Talent to win it, obviously,” the 64-year-old said before their audition.

The stakes are high as the 2016 winner will receive a cash prize of £250,000 and a slot on the Royal Variety Performance.

Earlier in the ITV show, Presentation School Choir’s choral director Veronica McCarron appeared to catch Simon’s eye.

Cheryl might have jetted off on holiday to Los Angeles with her new toyboy Liam Payne, but it looks like the pair made the time to stop by and visit their mutual mate Simon Cowell.

Perhaps it was more of a business meeting?

Either way, Cheryl was clearly chuffed to see Simon’s two-year-old son with Lauren Silverman, Eric, sharing an adorable photo of he tot dressed just like his father - complete with a pair of no-nonsense shades.


Chezza captioned the snap with: “Look at Eric, mini @SIMONCOWELL but cute!!”

They truly are like father like son.

It is possible that the singer was meeting with her boss to discuss the future of ITV talent show The X Factor, with it recently being confirmed that Nick Grimshaw won’t be returning to the show as a judge this year.

The flamboyant 80s icon and The Voice UK judge, Boy George, has publicly opened up about his feelings for Simon Cowell in a candid confession, and we take our hats off to him. The 54-year-old singer joked he has a crush on the X Factor boss and has invited him to be "lovers."

Despite being talent show rivals, Boy George has said that he and "sexy" Cowell could have an affair and explained that he had "absolute respect" for him. Talking to a press roundtable, he said: "I've always felt like he might be part of my future, that we'll either have dinner together or maybe we'll become lovers.". Easy, tiger…

He further gushed: "I've got nothing against him, I love watching him on his shows. I think he's very funny. I know people who know him and they all say he's lovely. He's very sexy. I'm in love with him," The Sun reports. Cowell might be double locking his mansion tonight…

Brunettes have more fun – with Simon Cowell.

The X Factor boss once turned down Amanda Holden on a date and told her: “I don’t fancy blondes.”

Amanda, 45, told how their night out was such a flop she ordered a taxi at 10.30pm to take her home.


Simon and Amanda didn’t get on when they went out.

The TV presenter said: “A very long time ago, when we were both single, we went on a date but I pre-ordered a cab to come and get me at 10.30pm, which made him laugh. He never forgets that.”

Amanda has been a judge on Britain’s Got Talent since Cowell, 56, launched the show in 2007.


She admitted to being as “surprised” as anyone else that she has survived his famous judging panel culls.

Amanda with husband Chris Hughes.

But the mum-of-two denied Cowell has kept her on because she is sexy.

She told the Daily Mail: “Simon always tells people that he hired me because he fancied me, but that’s absolute nonsense – he doesn’t go for blondes.


“It’s more a surprise to me than anyone else that after 10 years I’m still here.

“I went into it thinking it would be one show and that would be it, but I never expected to love it as much as I do.”

Simon Cowell has said he is unsure whether One Direction’s status is “a hiatus or a break-up”.

The admission, which came during an interview with Billboard magazine, ignited speculation about the heart-throb band’s future.


“I don’t know if it’s a hiatus or a break-up, to be honest,” Simon admitted.

He added: “In a weird way, I don’t want to know. I don’t think they’ve had enough time to experience what it’s like not being in the group to really answer that.”

One Direction – Harry Styles, 22, Liam Payne, 22, Niall Horan, 22, and Louis Tomlinson, 24 – have not commented publicly on the remarks.


Since their much-publicised hiatus was announced in 2015, the band members have remained in the public eye.

Louis is a new father and has a record label, while band mate Niall has capitalised on his interest in golf with a management company.

Liam recently went public with his relationship with X Factor judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and is working on new music.

But a good deal of interest centres on what Harry will do next. He has new material in the pipeline, as confirmed by the X Factor boss.

Harry Styles is fuming over former bandmate Zayn Malik slamming One Direction. The 23-year-old left the band last year after Simon Cowell had brought them together on the X Factor in 2010.


"Harry is so over Zayn dissing One Direction. He doesn't understand why Zayn doesn't have any gratitude towards the group that launched his career," a source told HollywoodLife. "He thinks all his interviews are just to make him look like he's somehow cooler and edgier than everyone else in 1D."

Speaking in an interview with Complex magazine Zayn said that when he was with One Direction he felt like an outsider who was silenced and ignored. "It was about denying the authenticity of who I was, and what I enjoyed about music, and why I got into it. That was always there. It was one of the things that wasn't going to go away, so I had to go away," Zayn said, adding, "I was frustrated with the band."

The I Won't Mind singer also said that he hated it when they had to do group interviews because he felt he was overshadowed by Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne. "It's nice to have the chance to speak. Now I get to talk about what I'm passionate about.

Simon Cowell has confirmed that One Direction members will be coming up with their solo projects following in the footsteps of ex-band member Zayn Malik, who is set to release his solo album titled Mind of Mine on 25 March. The music mogul, who brought together the members of the band on X Factor, said Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson deserved their break as they have worked hard during the past five years.


"Yeah, there will be more, I'm absolutely sure of that," Simon told E! News, according to The Metro. "Well, it was always going to come. You can't work at that level; the way they did. I mean lots of things are going to be announced over the next few months, but they were, are, the nicest people, you know, to work with," Simon said. "Hardworking, appreciate everything, so it won't be the end," he added.

Talking about Zayn, Simon said: "We were involved with what label he went on, and he's still signed to our company, so, he's done fantastic, and he's showing that he's a great vocalist and very talented."

Zayn had walked out on One Direction during their On The Road Again tour in March 2015. Since leaving the group, Zayn released his first solo single Pillowtalk on 29 January, which topped the Billboard Hot 100, On Demand Songs and the US Digital Songs chart. It was top of the music charts in the UK as well. The solo single is one of the songs from Zayn's album Mind of Mine.


With the success of his solo song release, Zayn said: "Thank you to all my fans and supporters. We have achieved this together and I am grateful."

"What is gwaning :) !! I can't explain the love and gratitude i feel today, thank you for making this happen (sic)," Zayn also tweeted.

Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall was left “nervous, unsettled and scared for her own safety” by a fan accused of stalking her, a court heard.

Nabeel Waseem, 33, was formally cleared of stalking her following a hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, after he accepted a restraining order which will keep him away from the pop star.

The former Harrods employee was arrested in January having visited Jade’s grandmother in the star’s home town of South Shields, South Tyneside.

Jade on stage last year (Ian West/PA Wire)
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Police warned him if he wanted to have contact with her, he must go through her record label, the court heard.

So Waseem, of Broadwater Road, Wandsworth, London, contacted her management to say he was dying of epilepsy, had spent thousands on tickets and albums and he wanted to work for them for free.

This sparked further alarm, the court heard.

Clare Irving, prosecuting, said: “She felt nervous, unsettled, scared for her own safety and that of her family. She felt harassed and in fear of physical violence.”

Geoffrey Forrester, defending, said Waseem was motivated by his belief that Little Mix deserved better management than Simon Cowell.

“He cannot plead guilty because he doesn’t accept he has done anything wrong,” his solicitor said.

“His motives were entirely well-intended. He wishes nothing but the very best for the group.”

He said his client had never been in the same town as Jade, or been in her sight.

Waseem, wearing a black hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and open-toed sandals for the hearing, was allowed to explain how Little Mix’s 10 million fans around the world, if asked, would vote for the band to leave Simon Cowell’s management company.

“I was only trying to be a middle-man, trying to convey that message,” he told the court.

One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has found himself with a lot of spare time on his hands following the announcement of his band's two-year hiatus. So it doesn't come as a huge surprise that the teen heartthrob has "relentlessly nagged" music mogul and long-term mentor Simon Cowell for more involvement on the X Factor.

After much conjecture over Tomlinson's highly anticipated role as a new judge following Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw's hasty departure, the star confessed that there has been no talk of his potential TV debut. According to The Sun, the new father and former X Factor judge Louis Walsh are favourites for the hot seat, but the History hitmaker is more than hopeful of taking over as Cowell's new right-hand man with a fresh take on the music industry, and it couldn't have come at a more pertinent time. Speaking to the publication on the red carpet at the 2016 Brit Awards , he revealed: "We've had no official conversation yet. But yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I?"


Tomlinson, who rose to fame on the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 where his five-piece band was formed and finished third in the final, first showed interest in returning to the talent show when he appeared on the Judge's Houses segment to counsel Simon Cowell over his decision to whittle his category down to just three acts. He impressed the show supremo in the process and has reportedly asked Cowell for more show involvement since.

His new role as a doting father to son Freddie Reign Tomlinson, born on January 21, is no doubt swallowing up most of his free time as he is reportedly leasing a three-bedroom home in Calabasas, California for Freddie's mother Briana Jungwirth. The What Makes You Beautiful chart-topper is said to be renting a separate house for himself nearby along with payments of almost £10,000 in child support monthly; so it's no wonder he's keen over a possible X Factor judging endeavour.

Opening up about becoming a new parent before picking up the gong for Best British Video award at this year's Brit Awards with fellow 1D bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, the singer said: "[Fatherhood] is good. It's intense. It's really exciting. This is my first time away from Freddie so it's tough."

Simon Cowell has finally joined Instagram and didn't hold back sharing photos with his fans. The music mogul went on a bit of a posting spree, uploading several snaps from the glitzy Brit Awards on Wednesday night.

The first photo was of himself and his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, striding into the O2 Arena hand-in-hand. American beauty Lauren wore an elegant dress that featured a high collar and embellished detailing, while Simon looked dapper in a tuxedo.

Brit Awards 2016

A photo posted by @simoncowell on Feb 24, 2016 at 1:10pm PST

The couple featured in another snap taken at their champagne-filled table, this time posing with Louis Tomlinson. The photo did little to dispel rumours that the One Directioner may be joining The X Factor panel as a judge.

Proud @littlemix

A photo posted by @simoncowell on Feb 24, 2016 at 3:32pm PST

Louis, who is close friends with Simon, has previously acted as a guest judge on the show, which propelled him to stardom alongside Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan.

"We've had no official conversation yet. But yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I?" Louis told The Sun on the Brits red carpet, when he was asked if the rumours were true.

It's also been reported that Louis may ask Simon to be the godfather to his newborn son Freddie. "We'll have to wait and see," Simon told The Mirror. "I'm godfather to a lot of kids now. I would if he asked."

She may have been given her own show on Apple’s Beats 1 Radio.

But Charli XCX’s airwaves hero is far from cutting edge.

The 23-year-old Cambridge-born singer told Beats 1 colleague Julie Adengua on her show she has a soft spot for Alan Partridge.

Charli, above, said: “I’m just kinda having fun and probably being really embarrassing on the radio.

“I start like doing all these Alan Partridge hand movements whilst I’m talking. I’m trying to hone a style.

“I kind of have a crush on Alan Partridge. Everyone has a secret crush on Alan Partridge.”

As Partridge creator, divorced dad-of-one Steve Coogan, 50, is dating Downton Abbey actress Daisy Lewis, 30, so Charli is probably out of luck.

The singer also announced on Julie’s show she wants to become a music mogul by launching her own label, Vroom Vroom – named after her new EP.

After yesterday’s reports that Olly Murs was ‘in discussions’ about his X Factor future and that Simon Cowell was giving him the chance to walk before he’s pushed, the singer has now quit the show.

This comes after Nick Grimshaw bowed out of his seat on the judging panel, with rumours also claiming that Olly’s presenting partner, Caroline Flack, has been given the boot.

Copyright [REX Shutterstock]

Given that we’re only in February and there’s already been all this drama, something tells us it’s going to be a long few months before the next X Factor begins.

Olly, who reportedly made his mind up last month, announced his decision to leave the show in The Sun, saying: “This was an incredibly hard decision to make and one I didn’t take lightly as I’ve really enjoyed co-hosting The X Factor.

“It’s been one big adventure and I loved every minute of it. But my heart belongs to music and I want to concentrate 100 per cent on making my next album and getting back to performing.”

Copyright [Syco/Thames/Corbis/Dymond]

Olly and Caroline joined the show as hosts last year, replacing long-time X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary. 

He went on to say he ‘couldn’t see himself’ having time to work on his next album and present the show this year, having felt like ‘the music side of things had to be shoehorned into the TV schedule’ while he was presenting last year.

“In addition to this we have agreed to work on some other TV projects in the future.”

Hurrah!

Coldplay will get in good practice for their finale set at this year’s Glastonbury Festival as they bring the NME Awards with Austin, Texas to a close with a foot-stomping romp through their biggest hits.

The four piece will pick up their Godlike Genius award at the ceremony on Wednesday, just one day after being announced as the first band to headline Glastonbury four times, and will play a career-spanning set.

Joining in the celebrations will be Yoko Ono, who is picking up the Inspiration Award at this year’s event at Brixton’s O2 Academy just hours before she turns 83.

There’ll be more than a few surprises for the audience at the annual music awards, including waiting to hear if Kanye West will win the hero and villain of the year gongs, having been nominated for both.

He joins politicians in the shape of Donald Trump, six-times nominee David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, plus radio host Chris Moyles and X Factor judge Simon Cowell on the list for villain of the year.

But his nomination for hero of the year lauds him alongside Adele, Taylor Swift, Dave Grohl, Florence Welch, and token politician, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Simon Cowell has come up with a new excuse for why he was late to work at the Britain’s Got Talent 2016 auditions in London.

Reports claim he left the audience waiting for an hour because he was busy getting a tan. Yep.

According to The Daily Star, an audience warm-up artist said to fans: “We’ve had to delay the show because Simon is stuck in the tanning booth.”

An onlooker added: “Some of the audience were visibly p**sed off by the news and started to boo and slow handclap.”

He eventually arrived to get the show on the road at 4.30pm.

This isn’t the first drama to have hit the BGT auditions this year, with reports claiming Amanda Holden threw three glasses of water over Simon during previous auditions.

Copyright [Syco / Thames / Corbis]

Simon was allegedly left ‘fuming’, accusing Amanda of ruining a £50,000 microphone.

The Mirror reports that Simon annoyed Amanda when he compared hopeful Joe Gibson to a bad date he’d had with her.

He reportedly told the auditionee: “It kind of reminded me when I went out for dinner with Amanda once, I liked the first half and then half way through I kind of thought, ‘That’s enough’, it felt like it was missing something, it was unoriginal.

Louis Tomlinson (Photo: Getty Images)

It was just five years ago that Simon Cowell pulled five guys together and called them a band. Now one of them is a father. The continual pull of time can be such a cruel thing.


One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and Briana Jungwirth welcomed a son this week, People has confirmed.

Louis Tomlinson and Briana Jungwirth (Photo: AKM-GSI)

While neither Tomlinson nor Jungwirth has commented, Tomlinson’s dad Mark did tweet out a telltale reference to “tiny feet.”

Tomlinson and Jungwirth are no longer together romantically; the two dated briefly last May. Tomlinson has relocated to Los Angeles to be close to Jungwirth and their son. He is currently linked to Danielle Campbell, who stars on CW’s The Originals.

Your very first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, will be a part of the reality competition’s farewell run.

Clarkson will serve as a guest judge and perform in February’s first live telecast, executive producer Trish Kinane shared on Friday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. That likely will be the limit of the pregnant singer’s involvement, given her upcoming due date.

Some other Idol winners will participate in duets with finalists during the middle rounds, Kinane added.

It’s also a possibility — though perhaps less so — that the original judges’ panel of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell will reunite for the show’s swan song. Cowell, in particular, will have to work around his upcoming gig as an America’s Got Talent judge, according to Kinane.

Celebrities:  We spend all day talking about them but there are always a few who manage to gain more column inches than any of their famous peers.

Of course only one person could come top in this list, with Kate Middleton AKA The Duchess Of Cambridge once again being the most talked about woman of the year.
Kate gave the United Kingdom another royal baby this year, welcoming Princess Charlotte in May, two years after the birth of Prince George.
The 33-year-old has also continued on her quest to be the most fashionable member of the royal family since time began, constantly hitting the top of Best Dressed lists throughout the year following her various public appearances.
Anything she wears sells out within minutes and her family, the Middletons, are also a endless source of fascination to the public, as is Kate’s relationship with her granny-in-law…The Queen. 

Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, sparked controversy this year when it was revealed that he’d lashed out at one of the show’s producers following a, and we quote, “fracas”.

Susanna Reid, the fanciable host of Good Morning Britain, has always had a spot in the nation’s heart, with her charming antics on breakfast television winning her fans all over the country 

When 2015 kicked off, fans across the globe had no idea just how dramatic this year would be for the biggest boyband in the world, with the first big scandal coming in March when Zayn Malik sensationally decided to quit the band and pursue a solo career.

Trumping her famous step-daughter, 2015 has definitely been the year that saw Caitlyn Jenner push the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan out of the limelight as she came bounding forward to introduce herself to the world.

She’s one of the most talked about women on the planet at the best of times, but 2015 really saw Kim’s profile shoot to a whole new level.
Alongside a highly-publicised trip to Armenia for her reality show, ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, Kim 

Former Coronation Street actress, Michelle Keegan, bowed out of the ITV soap a year ago, but that doesn’t mean that anybody has lost interest in her.

Taylor Swift started to slowly take over the world following the release of her album, 1989, last year but 2015 has really seen TayTay dominate the headlines.

Rita Ora was hotly anticipated to join The X Factor judging panel after Simon Cowell vowed that he’d be seriously mixing up the 2015 series of the show, but that didn’t make it any less of a scandal when she confirmed that she had signed on the dotted line.

2014 was a pretty manic year for Katie Price. She dramatically revealed that her husband Kieran Hayler, had been having an affair with her best mate, Jane Poutney behind her back, and ended up giving birth to her fifth child, Bunny, two weeks prematurely.

Tweets from all four members of One Direction are among the top 10 most retweeted Twitter posts of 2015 – with Harry Styles at number one.

Departed member Zayn Malik is also on the list while Harry remains the most followed person in the UK with more than 26 million followers, according to the social media site’s review of the year.


Meanwhile, Katy Perry continued her Twitter reign in 2015 as the most-followed individual, with over 78 million followers, and Rihanna broke into the global top five for the first time with more than 53 million followers.

Completing the top 10 most followed in the UK are Zayn (16.6 million), Ed Sheeran (15.9 million), Simon Cowell (12.5 million), Wayne Rooney (12.2 million) and Stephen Fry (11.7 million).