500lb tuna is caught off Britain
THE X FACTOR returns tonight but judge Nicole Scherzinger has hinted this series could be her last.
The former Pussycat Doll signed up at the last minute only after admitting she was torn over whether to pursue her singing career instead.
Her indecision prompted speculation that pop diva Mariah Carey was in line to take her place on hit-maker Simon Cowell’s talent contest, becoming the 14th judge to appear in 14 series.
Nicole, 39, said: “It’s true that I was the last person to sign. It’s not true that it was because I found out about Mariah Carey.
“I am flattered she even wanted to do it and I am flattered that Simon chose me over Mariah, let that be clear.
“I love the show, I love the job. Every time I come on the show I invest and throw everything into it and that takes a lot of my time.
“All of my energy goes into the contestants and I was thinking maybe I should be putting more of that time into myself as an artist.
“But there are some new changes being made to the show that I was really excited about and which would also maybe give me a little bit more time to do both.”
Honest
Nicole and Simon, 57, will be joined on the judging panel by Louis Walsh, 65, and Sharon Osbourne, 64, as they start their search for the next wannabe megastar to follow in the footsteps of previous contestants Leona Lewis, One Direction and Alexandra Burke.
But asked if this year could be her farewell appearance on the smash-hit ITV show, Honolulu-born Nicole said: “I never know.
“That’s why I was the last to sign on because I know when I commit I commit fully. I go all in.
“I don’t know what I am going to do next year.
“I don’t even know what I am going to do the next couple of months.
“I have an idea of what I want to do and that’s music. I always want to do music. It’s my first love.”
Fans of the long-running show have been promised plenty of changes to the format this year as judges vow to be “blatantly honest” with singers.
Nicole thinks she might have already spotted this year’s winner.
Tonight viewers will see 22-year-old pub singer Grace Davies from Blackburn reduce her to tears with a self-penned song. Nicole also struggles to comprehend a Liverpudlian during her audition, whispering to Sharon: “I can’t understand a word she is saying.” She said: “I’m really trying not to show my excitement for Grace. This year I know it. I caught on to it right away. You just have it or you don’t. For me you’re born with it. It’s not something that can be taught. What Grace has going for her is she’s an exceptional, stupidly brilliant song-writer.
“She is so young and she’s not even got people helping.
“She doesn’t even know it’s good. It’s her soul speaking through music.”
The X Factor goes up against Strictly Come Dancing in the battle of Saturday night TV once again and Nicole hopes Simon’s tinkering will see the show become a ratings winner and silence the critics... although she claims to pay no attention.
She said: “I don’t need to hear the ratings are down when I have given everything.
“The show has been around for years – things are always changing and then they say the ratings are down but then it’s still higher than the ratings for most shows.
“Change, progression… that’s the key to success otherwise what are we doing, we are all going to get bored. “We have got to keep it fresh.” The X Factor is on ITV tonight and tomorrow, both from 8pm. A FISHERMAN landed a record monster catch when he reeled in a 500lb bluefin tuna.
Skipper Andrew Alsop, 48, fought for more than two hours along with his crew as the boat was dragged for two-and-a-half miles.
The bluefin tuna weighs three times as much as Andrew and, at 7ft 7in, is believed to be the biggest catch off the Welsh coast.
Andrew, who returned to base at Neyland, Pembrokeshire, said: “It is the fish of a lifetime.
“I really didn’t think we had any chance in a million years of holding it on the tackle.
“At one stage I thought ‘I can’t do this’ – the fish was fighting.
“But I had to land it or it would just have been another fisherman’s tale.
“I knew it would be big but it was even more massive than I thought.”
The crew sent the fish back to sea. Andrew said: “He was pretty tired but hopefully he would be OK.”