Simon Cowell has spoken out about Robbie Williams and Ayda Field’s decision to leave X Factor, admitting he thinks it might actually be for the best.
Speaking to The Sun about the husband-and-wife duo’s exit, Simon said he thinks the show could be better off without them, as he hopes to take attention away from the judging panel for future series.
He explained: “It was no secret [Robbie and Ayda wanted] millions and millions of pounds.
“I am going to be really honest with you — and this is no disrespect to Robbie or anyone else who has been on the panel — my focus this year is mainly about the people who are coming on the show to compete. I’m probably talking myself out of a job here, but I think there has been so much emphasis on the judges. We’ve lost sight of the contestants.”
He continued: “It got crazy, I never thought this would happen 20 years ago, when I started this show, that we would be talking more about the judges than the contestants, it’s complete nonsense. Somehow that’s the way it’s gone.”
Simon will be involved in not one, but two series of The X Factor this year.
A regular series will not be airing but its place there will be a celebrity edition, and an all-star version which will see former contestants returning to compete for a second turn.
And as The Sun pointed out in their article, Simon can now put those “millions and millions of pounds” to good use by roping in big names as contestants, rather than judges.
It remains to be seen whether former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson will be returning to X Factor, having joined the panel this year.
When asked about Louis – whose sister Felicité died earlier this month at the age of just 18 – Simon said: “If he said to me, I am taking time off I would respect that. He’s a great judge, by the way. He worked so hard for it.
“What he has gone through, you don’t even think about work, you just think about how you’re going to be there for him as his friend.”
Simon’s other hit ITV show Britain’s Got Talent is also being tipped for an All-Stars series later this year, following the success of America’s Got Talent: The Champions in the US.