At its peak, The X Factor was the jewel in ITV’s crown, attracting 20million viewers on a Saturday evening.
It wasn’t just a hit TV show. During its 14-year run, the reality singing competition changed the face of the British music industry, birthing some of the industry’s best-known names including One Direction, Leona Lewis, Little Mix, JLS and Olly Murs.
Yes, the TV juggernaut slowed in its later years, with viewing figures dwindling thanks to the rise of streaming platforms and allegations of mistreatment from past contestants. But when in 2021 ITV finally confirmed that ‘there are no current plans for the next series of The X Factor at this stage,’ many fans were still stunned.
The hurt behind the scenes was far greater, I am told. And it was ITV’s vague approach to winding down the beloved primetime show which caused the most upset: the show had been off air for three years before the channel confirmed it wasn’t returning. TV insiders tell me that Simon Cowell had been given that time to come up with a ‘fresh format’ to win back viewers. When he and his team came back to ITV with ideas, however, the broadcaster ‘didn’t engage’.
Despite this, Cowell, who is believed to be worth £475million, bit his tongue and continues to work with ITV on his other hit show, Britain’s Got Talent.
Simon Cowell and his team went to ITV with ideas on how to refresh The X Factor, but the broadcaster ‘didn’t engage’, insiders tell Dolly Busby
Cowell, centre, with former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary and judges Sharon Osbourne, Nicole Scherzinger, second from right, and Louis Walsh, far right, who all worked on the show’s 14th season
But now, X Factor fans will be over the moon to hear that the music mogul is returning to our screens with a brand new reality competition almost identical to his cancelled show.
This time, however, it will not be on terrestrial TV. Instead, Cowell is collaborating with the streaming giant Netflix.
I am told the project, which has been met with great excitement in television circles, will be a ‘big two fingers up to ITV’.
Simon Cowell: The Next Act was announced by Netflix as a six-episode docuseries which will follow Cowell as he searches for Britain’s next big band, from raw open casting calls to the release of the group’s debut single.
It’s an ‘all-access’ pass for viewers to catch every moment of ‘Cowell’s next chapter’, claims the streaming giant’s website.
According to my sources, Netflix executives ‘felt bringing a name like Simon in for a factual entertainment show was a power move for the network’.
But Cowell’s own motivations, according to insiders, are different. He wants to prove he still has the Midas touch when it comes to successfully launching a new band, they say – as he did so spectacularly with One Direction and Little Mix.
‘Also,’ a source adds, ’success on Netflix would be priceless retribution against ITV for the way The X Factor came to a close.’
Cowell denies such allegations, however, with a source close to him insisting: ‘There’s no rivalry nor residual issue – Simon’s focus is entirely on new formats and discovering talent.’
There will of course be some who have hesitations about his comeback to the music talent show scene.
Many will remember the husky voiced contestant, Katie Waissel, with her shock of platinum blonde hair and unique rendition of Queen’s We Are The Champions, who rose to fame when she came seventh in the 2010 series of The X Factor – which netted the show’s highest ever viewing figures.
Cowell wants to prove he still has the Midas touch when it comes to carving the careers of bands such as One Direction, insiders say
Cowell and the boyband celebrate making it through to the next round during the series
But then in 2023 she sued Simon Cowell’s company, Syco Entertainment, over allegations that the show had ‘ruined her life’ and failed in its duty of care to contestants.
Upon hearing about Cowell’s new Netflix deal, the 39-year-old took to X on Wednesday to pen a damning statement about her former boss.
She wrote: ‘It’s astonishing, really, how easily the industry forgets. Another “comeback,” another attempt to polish the same machine that’s already chewed up and spat out so many lives.’
‘To see him reappear with yet another “new” show isn’t entertainment, it’s repetition.
‘A recycling of pain packaged as promise.’
Cowell has been contacted for comment about Ms Waissel’s statement.
She has been joined by a handful of former contestants who have spoken out against the show.
In a post on X in 2022, John and Edward Grimes – stage name Jedward – alleged: ‘Every contestant on The X Factor was a slave to the show and got paid zero while the [producers] made millions.’
Cher Lloyd, who appeared in the same series as Ms Waissel, said she felt ‘exploited’ by the experience, and the 2016 champion, Matt Terry, said he hoped The X Factor ‘never’ returns.
Amid the storm of allegations, however, Cowell continued working on a formula for his next big project.
First, he came up with StemDrop – a social media-based talent hunt. TikTok creators worldwide were asked to produce their own versions of a song and then collaborate with the multiple Grammy-winning songwriters Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Ali Payami.
However, the TikTok and Samsung-led effort, launched in October 2022, disappeared without a trace – attracting just 142,000 followers on the platform.
A few weeks later, Cowell teased that, as part of his NBCUniversal contract, which gives them first refusal on new unscripted series plans, there were plans to bring back The X Factor in the US.
He said during an America’s Got Talent media event at the time: ‘England or America? I have an expression in life: “Always go where you have got the best invitation.”’
But now, as he enters the new realm of streaming services, only time will tell whether Cowell still has that Midas touch. And if he does, will ITV come to regret cancelling The X Factor?
