More than 19.1 million of us cancelled trips to the pub, hurried through chores, gave the kids special dispensation to stay up late, and settled down in front of the telly to watch Joe McElderry beat Olly Murs in the 2009 X Factor final. But while the nation was prepared to put its weekend plans on hold for the UK's premier, erm, singing contest – the mogul behind it may be rather less flexible.
Simon Cowell's deal with Fox to bring The X Factor to US television could lead to something of a scheduling clash, with Fox reportedly demanding it be screened in the autumn. That might mean shifting the UK version of the show to the first half of the year, forcing ITV to overhaul its schedule and moving Britain's Got Talent and Dancing on Ice to make space for it. For its part, ITV says that it is "absolutely planning for The X Factor to return this autumn and next, with Simon in both his on-screen and production role". But surely Cowell can't be in both the UK and the US at the same time.
So what is likely to happen – and why is Simon Cowell's diary apparently in danger of dictating what television is scheduled when? Who wants Dancing on Ice in the summer (the question of who wants it anyway is one too great for me to ponder)? And what will become of the campaigns to ruin Christmas for X Factor winners through the medium of Rage Against the Machine? So many questions. Cowell, it seems, has a lot to answer for.
