Louis Walsh eyes X Factor return with one condition
Louis Walsh would love to return to The X Factor when it is brought back to TV - but he would only consider rejoining the panel if his former co-star Sharon Osbourne was hired too.
Louis Walsh would love to return to The X Factor when it is brought back to TV.
The music manager was a part of the show on and off for years after it debuted in 2004 with Louis first sitting on the judging panel alongside Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne - and he's now admitted he would be keen to join the new incarnation of the TV talent competition but only if he was able to work with Sharon again.
He told The Sun newspaper: "Of course I’d go back, but only if Sharon Osbourne did too. We’d have such a laugh together."
Louis' comments come after The Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that production company Talkback Thames and ITV bosses are in talks for an X Factor reboot and are "super-keen" to bring back the programme with younger judges to appeal to a new generation of viewers, though creator Simon Cowell is likely to return in some capacity.
However, a source told The Sun that Louis is unlikely to be considered for a spot on the new panel. The insider said: "Louis is great on telly, but he’s a bit of an X Factor relic. Even Simon won’t be front and centre on the new series.
"He will be more behind the scenes. The whole point of the new show is to bring in fresh faces on the panel. They want completely new talent to give The X Factor a sense that it belongs in our world now.
"You’d expect music influencers and younger singers to be on the panel, not Louis and Sharon, who are well into their 70s."
Simon - who still co-owns the rights to The X Factor, along with distribution company Fremantle - admitted earlier this year he had spoken "a lot" about bringing back The X Factor.
Asked in May if The X Factor could return, he told the Tales from the Celebrity Trenches podcast: “Yeah, we talk about it a lot. Do you bring it back as X Factor or do you bring it back as the Z Factor?
"There’s still no question, the power of TV in terms of getting people to know an artist. It’s so important if you’re not writing your own material.
"The truth is there’s something about being on a big screen. You hear about these artists who break online, but so rarely. Truth is, I guess, thank God, people like being on TV."
