TAKE THAT, GARY!
Cowell calls in the lawyers over rival’s X Factor ‘imitation’
THEY have been feuding ever since Simon Cowell gave Gary Barlow his marching orders from The X Factor – but now things are set to take a dramatic turn for the worse.
The music mogul is consulting lawyers over fears that Barlow’s new show, Let It Shine, which starts on BBC1 on Saturday, is so close to The X Factor and another of his music shows that it might infringe his rights. He has even told friends he is prepared to sue.
Cowell, 57, has put a team of staff on standby to monitor Barlow’s eight-week series, which will see him search for five male singers to play the parts of Take That in a forthcoming West End musical about the chart-topping band.
Let It Shine is going up against The Voice – which has moved from BBC to ITV – in what promises to be the start of the biggest Saturday night television ratings battle since Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor went up against each another in 2005.
If successful, Let It Shine could also establish Barlow, 45, as the new king of Saturday night television – usurping his great rival.
Cowell’s unease about Barlow’s show has grown since he learned that, just like X Factor, Let it Shine will feature auditions judged by a panel and that successful candidates will go through to a ‘bootcamp’ stage before the live finals.
Former Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp will join Barlow on the panel, while the singer has poached Dannii Minogue, 45, from the Australian version of The X Factor. Sources close to Cowell say he was particularly angered by her switch because she was ‘very much part of the X Factor family’.
Barlow also tried to entice current X Factor judge Nicole Scher- zinger to his show before Cowell quickly offered her a new deal to stay. It is understood that Cowell was further irritated to learn that Olly Murs – the runner-up on 2009’s X Factor – is to feature on Let It Shine as a guest artist.
A friend of Cowell said: ‘Let It Shine is all very similar to The X Factor. There are people who will be watching closely and Simon is ready to launch legal action.
‘There’s no love lost between them so Simon has no qualms about holding Gary to account.’
Sources say there could also be similarities between Let It Shine and La Banda, Cowell’s South American talent show that attempted to find a group to replace One Direction.
Cowell originally recruited Barlow as head judge on The X Factor in 2011, while he launched a version of the show in the US. But Barlow was blamed by Cowell for a fall in ratings. He described him as ‘wooden’ and, after a three-year stint, Barlow was axed. The pair have not spoken since.
The BBC said last night: ‘Let It Shine is an original format and bears no resemblance to any other format around the globe.’