Yes, this is all a stunt more likely than not and it'll be all over by Saturday.
Indeed, it seems the celeb dancers over on BBC One are getting more viewers for the main show - so it's time to launch the red top paper publicity stunt missile...
Sharon might even threaten to walk off the show - or do it live next week - giving ITV a 'primetime dilemma' even the broadsheets can get stuck into. And watch the viewing figures rocket and the cash roll in!
Not wanting to boast, but that was a pretty darn good prediction! Just the wrong judge...
:-(
A former member
Good ridden to that stupid man, who has not been undermined, he's done that all by himself!
The X Factor judge Louis Walsh has reportedly walked out of the programme after weeks of conflict with his fellow judges.
Walsh told newspapers this morning he left the reality talent show after rival judge Sharon Osbourne poured several glasses of water over him on Saturday's live programme, while the other judge, Simon Cowell, hit the airwaves this week to brand him dull and stupid.
"I have had enough. I'm going back to Dublin. I'm not putting up with it anymore," Walsh tells the Sun today.
He also attacks his fellow judges, saying: "I have been totally humiliated and undermined by both of them. This has caused me nothing but stress."
The walkout is said to have caused a crisis on the programme with producers and fellow judges attempting to woo him back.
Two weeks ago Walsh was booed by the X Factor audience when he controversially voted out contestant Maria Lawson to protect Irish act the Conway Sisters, whom he had known for years.
He has been mentoring Shayne Ward, whom the bookies have installed as the favourite.
An X Factor spokeswoman had not returned calls by the time of publication.
Also today the Pop Idol vs X Factor hearing has begun at the High Court, with Simon Fuller claiming the X Factor is a blatant rip-off - obviously forgetting it's certainly no more of a rip-off than Pop Idol is off Popstars!
No one can deny their similar, but I think there are enough significant differences which makes the X Factor a completly different show, namely the categories, the judges final vote and the selection process between auditions and live shows.
So have said all that, be quite convenient to have a publicity stunt today!
I wonder what they'll do if he does go though. What's Pete Waterman up to at the moment? Or Dr Fox - I think it worked slightly better with 2 "experts" and 1 more "fluffy" judge - like when Geri Halliwell did it.
'This Morning' had that Sinitta woman and a friend of Louis on today. Trying their best to convince us it's not all a publicity stunt and Louis really is upset and has quit Apparently he's being getting quite a lot of grief from people on the street too (which i can believe).
As for 'replacements' - Pete Waterman & Foxy have been slating the show recently...so they won't do it.
Quite frankly though I think this is just one stunt too far. I feel sorry for the contestants (remember them? they're the ones who sing during the intervals). OK they're not the most talented bunch -not one of them will have a lasting career - but while the judges are laughing all the way to the bank, they're been taken for a ride. The ironic thing is though that even with all this hype they're creating...they're still losing out to 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Rightly so IMO too.
Surely the contract he will have signed forces him to do the entire series, making it very difficult for him to just quit mid-way. Though it wouldn't suprise me if he is annoyed with the other judges, particular with Sharon after last Saturday. As for the public giving him grief that is somewhat to be expected due to the shows format where the judges have the final vote as to who leaves.
Edit: The previous Media Guardian article has since been updated...
Quote:
X Factor hit by Walsh 'walkout'
Stephen Brook
Wednesday November 23, 2005
The producers of ITV1 reality hit The X Factor are trying to persuade judge Louis Walsh not to quit the show, after he dramatically announced that he was walking out in the tabloids this morning.
A spokesman for the show said executives were talking to Walsh about his decision to quit, following weeks of conflict with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne.
"We hope we will be able to persuade him to return to the show on Saturday," the spokesman added.
Walsh told newspapers this morning he left the reality talent show after rival judge Osbourne poured several glasses of water over him on Saturday's live programme, while the other judge, Cowell, hit the airwaves this week to brand him dull and stupid.
"I have had enough. I'm going back to Dublin. I'm not putting up with it anymore," Walsh told the Sun today.
He also attacks his fellow judges, saying: "I have been totally humiliated and undermined by both of them. This has caused me nothing but stress."
Two weeks ago Walsh was booed by the X Factor audience when he controversially voted out contestant Maria Lawson to protect Irish act the Conway Sisters, whom he had known for years.
He has been mentoring Shayne Ward, whom the bookies have installed as the favourite.
Additionally there is an article about the court battle between X-Factor & Pop Idol...
Quote:
X Factor court battle begins
Wednesday November 23, 2005
The legal battle between rival music impresarios turned TV producers Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller was due to begin in the high court this afternoon.
Mr Fuller, who through his 19 TV production company created and co-produced Pop Idol, claims Cowell's The X Factor format is too similar to his own programme.
The case was due to be heard in the chancery division of the high court before Mr Justice Blackburne this morning, but was adjourned until this afternoon.
Mr Fuller's 19 TV is taking action against Mr Cowell and his firms Simcow and Syco as well as X Factor co-producer FremantleMedia, a division of the European media company RTL Group.
FremantleMedia also co-produces Pop Idol and the hugely successful US spin-off, American Idol.
ITV broadcast two series of Pop Idol before commissioning The X Factor last autumn. A second series of The X Factor is currently on air on ITV1, attracting even bigger audiences than the first.
Mr Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls, claims breach of copyright and breach of contract, because many Pop Idol staff went to work on The X Factor when their contracts barred them from working on rival programmes.
Mr Cowell, who made himself an onscreen star as a judge of Pop Idol and American Idol, co-produces The X Factor and is regarded as Britain's richest TV star.
He has branded the legal action "totally ridiculous" and commented "when there's a hit there's a writ".
Since The X Factor debuted in Britain last year, ITV has not produced another series of Pop Idol.
Mr Fuller waited until he had watched the first episode of The X Factor last year before deciding it was too similar to his own.
The two men are not expected to appear in court today.
Apparently he's being getting quite a lot of grief from people on the street too (which i can believe).
Rightly so IMO too.