Simon Cowell has told how he hopes his celebrity X Factor will turn actors into pop stars in the way Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were.
And he has been spending more time with his old “mentor” Pete Waterman, who helped launch the musical careers of the Aussie soap favourites.
The record producer has been spotted at several Britain’s Got Talent rehearsals recently.
Cowell, 59, said: “In the same way Pete Waterman made Kylie and Jason musical stars, and what I did with Robson and Jerome, I’d like to think through the process we’ll find someone who can sell records rather than just doing the show as a stunt.
"I think David [Walliams] might enter, seriously, that would be amazing.”
The revamped X Factor later this year will feature a host of celebrities, with the prospect of a second series. There are no public auditions. Cowell said the changes to the format are giving him a “buzz”.
He added: “I’m excited again because my focus is who will be on the show.”
Cowell has told how he owes a lot of his success to Waterman after “following him around like a dog for two years” to learn tricks of the trade.
He said: “One day he said to me, ‘Why are you following me around?’ and I said, ‘Because I want to learn from you, I think you’re great.’ That was a turning point in my life. He was like a mentor.”
