Before we address Simon Cowell's latest attempt to salvage ratings by putting on X Factor at the same time as Strictly Come Dancing, Carolynne Poole (she was the first person to get kicked off live shows) is today claiming that Chris Maloney called her a "c***" for blanking him over the weekend.
The Sun reports: "Speaking at the after-show party following James Arthur's storming win on Sunday, she said: 'After ten weeks the mask came off, it was like he couldn't keep it up any more (ooh er). He came in and basically, because I didn't say hi and kiss his a***, he called me a c***. Everyone heard it, even Jahmene, who was upset. I said to him, "Did you just call me a c***?". He denied it but I heard him'."
Then he had a hissier over the 'group medley': "The singer is said to have erupted after discovering he had only been given one line in the group medley performance. He launched into a rant at the other finalists and eventually flounced off, saying he was returning to Liverpool. Carolynne said: 'We were rehearsing the group song and he wouldn’t even stand next to me. He came over and looked me up and down and said, "You need to do something with that.' She was also appalled at his treatment of staff on the show: 'When you get onto X Factor you go into this bubble where everything is done for you. There are people that sort everything for you, get whatever you need, basically wipe your a**e for you. These people work so bloody hard to make sure you're OK and you can't treat them like this. He was always like, 'Do this, do that, get me this'. It's just not how you treat people'... Christopher's slot on the show's tour is in jeopardy and last night bosses were working out how to dump him from the lucrative string of dates which kick off in the new year."
As for Simon Cowell, well he's already thinking about next year. Instead of heeding my advice to give us all a bleedin' break for a year, he's barrelling on regardless and plans to air the show at 7pm instead of 8pm to "make it more family friendly." That would also mean it would be airing at the same time as Strictly, which continuously trounced it in the ratings this year. Wise.
He's also thinking of keeping on Nicole Scherzinger as a judge, which will make a nice change for her. Someone speaking with The Mail said: "Nicole has had a phenomenally successful year. She has established herself as part of the X Factor family. Simon is prepared to pull out all the stops to make sure she comes back, including offering her a huge pay rise. She has been a revelation, by far and away the most popular judge." Which speaks volumes about the current judging panel.
Also rumoured as part of the reshuffle, Tulisa is to go (although we're not sure if Cheryl's still in the running since she plans to sue X Factor USA for unfair dismissal…), Simon is to return, nobody knows what the story is with Gary as yet, and there's been no reference to Louis Walsh - but even if he died Simon would probably have insist that his reanimated corpse be part of the line up.
