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X Factor ‘millions’ lured Robbie Williams to judge with wife and 1D’s Louis
ROBBIE Williams has admitted that money played a big part in him agreeing to be an X Factor judge, alongside his wife Ayda.
The couple are thought to have landed a £10million deal to appear on the ITV show, confirming their roles yesterday.
With Simon Cowell, 58, and One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson also on the panel, it is likely to be the most expensive one X Factor has assembled.
Asked why he had joined the 15th series, after previously turning down the ITV series, Robbie said: “Millions, there are literally millions of reasons to be on this panel for this season.
“I have got five albums with Take That and 12 of my own, and now it is time to branch out into something different.”
Simon joked: “There’ll be no summer holiday for me this year. This was not easy to make happen but there is a buzz in the air. Money was part of it but we all want to find a star and, with this panel, we have a chance of attracting people who would not come on the show.”
The press conference, at which singer Sinitta appeared for Good Morning Britain dressed as the mogul, confirmed stories in our sister paper, the Mirror.
Last month, they revealed that Ayda and Robbie would be judges and Louis, 26, was poised to join them. Louis, whose band were the most successful ever created on X Factor, said: “I have been on the show so I can empathise with people. Development is what I am interested in.”
She’s the One singer Robbie only agreed to join X Factor if his “rock” did, too. Ayda, 39, is a regular on Loose Women but has no background in music. She insisted she could hold her own. The actress said: “I have auditioned for years and been through the highs and lows. I know what it’s like to get the job and lose the job. If it wasn’t a challenge, it wouldn’t be so fun. I’m excited to be the underdog.” She added working with and against Robbie, 44, would be “intriguing”. While he said: “We don’t really know what we are getting ourselves into. “I’m sure I’ll be sleeping on the sofa for more than a few weeks while this happens.” Auditions are at Wembley Arena, London, from today until Tuesday. They air from the end of August, hosted by Dermot O’Leary.