Cowell can’t stub out his £100-a-time smoking habit
SIMON Cowell is paying a £100 fine every time he has a cigarette so he can smoke inside the X Factor studios.
The music mogul says the show’s advert breaks are not long enough for him to go outside to light up.
Due to the ITV talent show’s demanding filming schedule, reports claim the 6-year-old has been forced to puff away at the judges’ desk during breaks. But as the studio is classed as a place of work, the father of one is forced to pay a penalty for every cigarette. An insider said the mounting fines are costing him ‘thousands of pounds’.
According to the Sunday Mirror, Cowell, who is worth an estimated £36 million, agrees to pay the fine as he needs to ‘relax’ during the show’s stressful filming schedule. The insider explained: ‘Simon makes no secret of the fact that he enjoys a cigarette to help him relax and obviously being on the judging panel while also running the show is very stressful.
‘Over the course of a series we’re talking about literally thousands of pounds.’
The source added: ‘Rather than wait until after the show and go outside like everybody else, Simon uses the advert breaks – but because they’re so short he never quite makes it outside.’
The law says a person smoking at work can be fined up to £200. A representative for Cowell, once thought to have had a 40-a-day habit, did not respond. In October he announced he was cutting back on smoking for the sake of his 21-month-old son Eric.