The X Factor is being eyed for a reboot and speculation has already turned to who could possibly take over as judges.

The final season of the ITV show saw Simon Cowell remain as head judge with guest judges Louis Tomlinson, Robbie Williams, and Ayda Field.

But it’s that original line-up of Simon, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne that fans remember as the most iconic… and the most brutal.

Turns out Louis, 74, is keen to return, having been on almost every single season from 2004 to 2018 except for a blip in 2015 and the final year.

Despite his dedication to the competition, Louis only managed to win the ITV series once with 2005 act Shayne Ward.

However, his mind isn’t focused on winning if he returns. Instead, his only stipulation for rejoining the show is that Sharon is there too.

Speaking to The Sun, Louis said: ‘Of course I’d go back, but only if Sharon Osbourne did too. We’d have such a laugh together.’

The music manager and wife of the late Ozzy Osbourne was a staple of the show from 2004 to 2007, reappearing in 2013 for one season, then again in 2016 and 2017.

Despite clashing over comments about Sharon’s daughter Kelly in the early days, the pair have remained firm friends over the years.

They even appeared together as a dynamic duo on Celebrity Big Brother in 2024, frequently leaving each other – and the viewers – in stitches.

In the early days of X Factor, the pair would often irritate Simon with their giggling and often harsh comments about the hopefuls.

Unfortunately for Louis, who is best known for managing Boyzone, Westlife, and Jedward, it looks like Simon isn’t hoping for a reunion.

It’s no surprise either, as Simon and Sharon are not so friendly, with the reality star claiming previously that she ‘just worked for him’.

The Syco founder is still thought to be involved in some way with the new series but a source has said that Louis probably won’t return.

The insider told The Sun: ‘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.’

Other celebrities who have had a stint on the show have included Dannii Minogue, Nicole Scherzinger, Cheryl, Gary Barlow and Rita Ora, but it’s unclear if any would return for the revamped version.

Simon found out the hard way on his Netflix series The Next Act that his TV icon status wasn’t enough to market to the next generation of stars.

One scene sees him frustrated that a poster with his face on hasn’t brought in enough auditions, learning quickly that social media was going to have to play a bigger role.

When Metro spoke to the show’s resulting band, December 10, the teens insisted they had known who the BGT star was and affectionately called him ‘the dad of the group’.

Some have questioned whether the competition-style format would work again, with viewership dropping from 10million at its peak to four million by 2018.

However, a source has claimed ITV is keen to bring the show back to fill the reality-show-shaped hole in its programming left hollow by the cancellation of series like Fortune Hotel and The Neighbourhood.

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.

When speaking to The Tales from the Celebrity Trenches podcast, he said: ‘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.’

The news of a potential reboot comes just months after Sky confirmed it was making a ‘premium, definitive documentary’ series exploring the TV juggernaut.


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