Saturday night telly would be pretty dismal without Simon Cowell's pithy put-downs and dazzling white teeth.
But, thankfully, the music mogul is pulling out all the stops for his upcoming ITV game show Walk The Line – as I can reveal he will be giving away £500,000 to the lucky winner.
The 61-year-old, who is resting X Factor after 17 years on the box, will be head judge on the show, alongside two other stars.
I can also reveal he has banned “old faces” from the audition process, insisting he wants “fresh, exciting names that haven’t appeared on his shows before”.
A source tells me: “This is a completely new format for Simon and he is very excited.
“He wanted to make the prize the biggest on UK telly right now and was adamant it wouldn’t be any less than £500k. He also wants new faces. There will be no Cheryl or Louis Walsh. Those names are all X Factor and Simon wants new, exciting talent sitting beside him.”
The judges don’t need to have a musical background so Simon is auditioning people from all areas of the entertainment industry.
The source adds: “Auditions are happening now, and Simon is a perfectionist so he’s not going to announce when the show will be until he has the perfect judging line-up.”
Simon’s right-hand woman Sinitta tells me she is hoping It’s A Sin star Olly Alexander will get a judging spot, while another source says Masked Singer host Joel Dommett could be in the mix. During the series, a range of musical acts – including soloists, choirs and bands – will compete for the cash prize.
Each show will introduce a high-stakes dilemma to contestants. The two acts judged the best will have to decide whether they cash out of the competition or “walk the line” to move on to the next stage.
The longer an act stays, the larger their prize pot will be as they will have to take on a new set of performers in the next episode.
Walk The Line – due to be filmed in the autumn – will be Simon’s first appearance on TV in 18 months. He broke his back in a horrific electric bike accident in August last year. He’s now on a strict diet and exercise regime to help him get back into shape.
I’m looking forward to seeing Si Walk The Line soon…
