Simon Cowell booed
A SMUG Simon Cowell last night made his first TV appearance since he axed Cheryl Cole from the US X Factor - and was BOOED by the audience. It was revealed he believes fans of the UK show will soon be asking: "Cheryl who?" But a source in the Britain's Got Talent audience said: "As soon as the warm-up guy said, Simon's in the building,' everyone started booing.
"People were saying, 'That's for Cheryl'."
And it was revealed the singer had rejected 11th hour pleas by ITV chief Peter Fincham and Cowell to get her back on X Factor UK.
It was claimed she had refused to accept an apology from Cowell over her treatment on the US show, where she was ditched after just a fortnight after complaints about her Geordie accent. In his first public statement since dumping Cheryl, Cowell, 51, had a sly dig at her.
She wasn't mentioned by name but, hinting at her lacklustre US performances, he said of the new judges for the British show: "Each of them bring a different attitude.
"They have had a ton of hits between them and they are all committed to finding a star." An insider said producers had told staff: "Six months from now, viewers will be saying 'Cheryl who?'" He added: "Simon offered Cheryl an olive branch to come back but she didn't take it.
"He hopes that in six months it could be 'Cheryl who?' and people will be talking about the new judges instead. He is friends with Cheryl but he doesn't think the show needs her for success." But Cheryl's pals said she was getting begging calls from ITV and Cowell yesterday.
An insider said: "Simon has been ringing non-stop, even today. But Cheryl will not accept his apology. " Cowell squirmed last night as Britain's Got Talent host Declan Donnelly taunted him over "Geordiegate".
Dec, in his Newcastle brogue, slowly asked: "Can you understand my accent, Simon?" Later, schoolboy Ronan Parke wept tears of joy as he reached the BGT final along with Paul Gbegbaje.
Source: Daily Record
