Latest in The X Factor

EXCLUSIVE: Keshet Productions’ rebranded UK non-scripted arm Interstellar has picked up an ITV pilot commission for a celebrity dance format. All Star Dance Off will most likely air around the Christmas period on youth-skewing portfolio channel ITV2, according to an ITV spokesman who confirmed the order. The format is…

Freddie Combs, whose soaring voice made him a fan favorite on television’s The X Factor music competition, has died at age 49. He died Sept. 10 at a Florida hospital from kidney failure, his wife, Kay, said. Combs was a minister and performed in a wheelchair on The X Factor. He battled health problems for years, and…

UK broadcaster ITV has said that it has no plans to screen another season of Simon Cowell’s entertainment juggernaut The X Factor. The singing competition was due to return for a 16th season under a deal Cowell signed with ITV in 2019, but the plans have changed as the two parties switch their attentions to other…

Simon Cowell is back in business and set to star as a judge on the Israel version of The X Factor. The music mogul has spent some of the second half of 2020 recovering from complex back surgery after an electric bike accident. He will be a judge on the fourth season of The X Factor in Israel, which airs on Reshet 13…

2ND UPDATE SUNDAY 6:30 PM: Simon Cowell was in good spirits on Sunday night in his first public comments after the surgery to repair his broken back following an electric bike accident. In a message posted on Twitter and Instagram series of tweets, he shared “some good advice” on safely using an electric bicycle and…

Simon Cowell is to take full control of Got Talent and The X Factor producer Syco Entertainment after agreeing to buy out Sony Music Entertainment's stake in the joint venture. Cowell is personally buying out the stake and the move will give him sole ownership of the entertainment company. It is the result of a…

UPDATED at 10.25AM with a statement from producers: Former The X Factor contestant Misha B has spoken candidly about her experience performing on the Simon Cowell-created talent show, saying that producers foist an ‘”angry black girl narrative” on her. Misha B took part in the 2011 season of The X Factor, at which…

The X Factor won’t air on ITV in the UK this year as Simon Cowell figures out how to breathe new life into his once all-conquering talent show. Cowell recently signed a five-year deal with ITV for Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, with the plan being to broadcast a final season of the latter in 2020. But Cowell…

A controversial episode of Celebrity Big Brother was the most complained about British show of the decade, while Love Island, The X Factor and ITV daytime show Loose Women also make the list from regulator Ofcom. More than 25,000 people complained about an episode of last year's Celebrity Big Brother on Viacom's…

Simon Cowell is on the brink of inking a record deal for Britain’s Got Talent, as NBC investigates the workplace culture on the U.S. version of the show, America’s Got Talent. A source said Cowell is in the final stages of talks with ITV over a new five-year agreement for the variety show, which will be the longest…

Banijay Group has merged two of its Italian non-scripted production outfits, DryMedia and Magnolia SPA, to create Banijay Italia. Banijay, which is fresh from signing a $2.2 billion deal to acquire Endemol Shine Group, will bring together the two companies under the leadership of DryMedia CEO Fabrizio Ievolella, who…

Sharon Osbourne is leaving the British version of The X Factor. The reality show judge was due to appear on the live shows of the ITV series but has stepped down, claiming that she doesn't "think she's needed". This comes amid British tabloid reports that she was fired after a scorching interview with Howard Stern…