Simon doesn’t mind getting to 60.. he just doesn’t like to look his age
boss for the better, Louis insists. “They’re always playing together like kids. He sees himself in Eric, he’s a mini Simon. He’s an amazing personality, very well mannered.
“The first time I met Simon at BMG
Records, he took me down to see his Ferrari. He wasn’t famous then… but he was so proud of that car. Simon is a self-made man and he wants Eric to be the same – he won’t spoil him, he wants him to appreciate things in life.”
Louis skilfully tiptoes around questions relating to the times when his friendship with Cowell has been tested – like the two occasions his pal sacked him from the X Factor.
“Simon’s been good to me,” he says. “He’s given me loads of advice and a job, and he’s always loyal. We always laugh and joke around, and he’s mischievous.
We’ll be walking on to the X Factor set and he’ll say, ‘Darling, Darling, try to be interesting tonight’. He makes me laugh so much.”
X Factor viewing figures have declined over the years, from an average of 14 million at its peak to five million last year. But Louis is convinced this year’s celebrity version will put it back on top – and tips Martin Bashir and reality star Megan McKenna as the ones to watch.
His biggest problem right now is what to buy the man who has it all. “A book, I don’t know,” he shrugs.
But Louis would love to see his pal given a knighthood.
He says: “I can’t believe he’s not a Sir, he deserves it.
“But he won’t grow old gracefully – he loves life too much.”