By SARA NATHAN

Double booked: Multi-millionaire Simon Cowell leaves X Factor as a judge after weeks of speculation


Simon Cowell has told ITV chiefs that he will not be a judge on The X Factor in the UK this year.

Executives at the network were embroiled in a desperate bid to keep the 51-year-old on the show after he said that filming both the U.S. and British versions at the same time would be too much.

But an ITV insider said last night that the balancing act ‘is just not feasible’.

The multi-millionaire leaves as a judge after weeks of speculation.

Sources close to Cowell admitted that his decision to quit the UK show was partly down to health concerns.


A friend said: ‘Everyone in his family is worried about his stress levels, he barely sleeps and has got a lot to juggle at the moment.’

Earlier this month, it was suggested that he had agreed to fit both shows into his hectic schedule, after meeting with ITV chief Peter Fincham.

As the Mail revealed, ITV bosses even offered to pay for a private jet to whisk the star across the Atlantic every week.

However, an ITV source said last night: ‘Cowell has been trying everything to make this work.

‘ITV had told him that he didn’t need to do the auditions, just the live shows, but even so it is just not feasible.

‘So what will happen now is that Cowell will likely make an appearance towards the end of the UK series and appear at the final.’ It is bad news for the broadcaster, as the insider added: ‘ITV was really trying to get him to stay on the UK show ... it just won’t be the same without him.’


source: dailymail