X Factor judges were paid TOO MUCH with Cheryl and Dannii Minogue given ‘ridiculous’ salaries, Simon Cowell admits
SIMON Cowell has admitted he and his fellow X Factor judges were paid "ridiculous" salaries.
The 62-year-old starred as head judge on the ITV show on and off from 2004 until it was shelved in 2018.
But with ITV still unable to find a replacement Saturday night show capable of pulling in five million viewers plus, there’s a chance the series could still return.
Reflecting on his time on The X Factor in an exclusive interview with The Sun, Simon refreshingly admits he blundered with the salaries the judges were paid.
Stars such as Cheryl Tweedy, Robbie and Ayda Williams and Dannii Minogue got small fortunes which, he admits, wouldn’t sit well in today’s credit-crunched world.
He said: “The salaries got out of whack. I’d be a hypocrite if I said I hadn’t made a lot of money.
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“But it got too crazy. And, going back to The X Factor, I’m not even sure artists should be judging other artists. I think it’s in their DNA to want to find a star.”
The show, which gave us Leona Lewis, One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs and Alexandra Burke, had seen ratings fall and the format was looking increasingly tired.
And Simon has revealed what he would do differently if the show was to return.
He says: “It’s a tricky one but there are hundreds of people who still want to be pop stars. We’d have to go back to basics.
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“The other thing we did with the show was to keep tinkering with it, adding new formats.
“When we first started the show it was very simple with unique elements. I’d argue you can’t make a better music show than that.
“I have an expression though — if you’re going to go to a party, have an invitation. You want to feel people are excited at the thought of The X Factor returning."
