A E FACTOR
After 15yrs and 445 shows...Cowell launches massive X Factor revamp Public auditions get boot, jobs are cut and celebs to be contestants
WANNABES will be replaced by celebrities in a massive overhaul of Simon Cowell’s The X Factor.
Public auditions for the ITV show have been axed after 15 years with staff struggling to find fresh talent to follow in the footsteps of superstars such as One Direction.
X FACTOR as we know it is being axed and replaced by a celebrity version in a bid to boost viewing figures.
Simon Cowell has pulled the plug on the traditional format of the show after 15 years.
Public auditions have been scrapped and stars will be drafted in to “rejuvenate” the show.
Ratings nosedived last year and viewers switched off in their droves. Show staff have been struggling to find fresh talent and have been increasingly using wannabes with previous claims to fame in recent years.
Now they are calling on household names to save the show, ending the era where unknowns were plucked from obscurity and made into superstars.
Celebrities, like soap and reality stars, who have always had an ambition to sing but are not known for their voices will be targeted by producers.
Redundant
And there will be a “champions” section where past global contestants will appear.
The decision for a major revamp came after three months of intense talks between Cowell’s firm Syco and ITV bosses. The intention is to bring the classic format back in 2020 and the show’s run may be extended until 2022.
A dozen production staff were made redundant yesterday.
A show insider told the Daily Star: “The decision has been made to drop X Factor in its current form. It has been 100% axed. The show is done.
“It’s being replaced by a show that’ll only be for celebrities.”
The decision to drop the show as we know it was made on Tuesday. Simon is still trying to convince ITV bosses this is the right way forward.
He has had recent success with America’s Got Talent: The Champions, where past faces battled it out to become overall winner.
And he is potentially looking at a Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions series.
At its peak in 2010, X Factor was telly’s biggest show with 19million viewers. But last autumn it hit an all-time low with ratings below four million. It has failed to compete with BBC rival Strictly.
It has also struggled to find stars in recent years. Big past winners include One Direction, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and Little Mix.
Crisis talks were being held last night over how a celebrity version will work. A source said: “A celebrity version is likely to be a ratings hit.”