'I got a bit too cocky': Simon Cowell admits he made mistakes with Britain's Got Talent and X Factor

-Reveals he didn't think last year's Britain's Got Talent judging panel Michael McIntyre, David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden 'did a good enough job'
-Admits he poached Alesha Dixon for BGT to hurt Strictly Come Dancing
-Concedes he was too optimistic about X Factor USA and will be making 'changes' for this year's series

By Emily Sheridan


Humbled: Music mogul Simon Cowell admitted he got 'a bit too cocky' over the success of his TV shows X Factor and Britain's Got Talent


Simon Cowell has broken his silence on the disastrous decisions he has made which have led to a slump in ratings for Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.

The music mogul, who is now back in Britain following a month-long holiday, is hoping he can find out what went wrong last year and turn things around for his two biggest shows.

After a successful 2010 for both series, Cowell admitted he got 'a bit too cocky' last year and admitted the slumping viewing figures had 'put my ego in check'.


As the 52-year-old prepared to return to the Britain's Got Talent panel full-time for the first time in Manchester today, Cowell admitted he was prepared to work hard to get back on top.

With the brutal honesty he is famous for, Cowell criticised last year's BGT panel Michael McIntyre, David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden for not doing 'a good enough job'.

He said: 'There are always stars waiting to be discovered. Sometimes they need to be pointed in the right direction and I don't think that happened enough during the show last year.'

2011 saw Cowell quit the panels of both X Factor and Britain's Got Talent to focus on launching X Factor USA.

Fleeting: Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff only appeared on the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent for one series, while Amanda Holden remains

Of course, X Factor USA didn't go too smoothly after he fired Cheryl Cole and the show failed to attract the huge ratings he predicated.

When he left the UK shows, he felt confident they would continue to succeed after the 2010 finals of X Factor and Britain's Got Talent attracted 19.4million and 15million viewers respectively.

However, the 2011 series of X Factor UK - with new judges Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland joining Louis Walsh - found itself being regularly beaten in the ratings war by BBC rival Strictly Come Dancing.

Despite in-fighting between the judges and controversy surrounding contestant Frankie Cocozza, the series averaged 14.13million viewers, with 15.5million tuning in to watch Little Mix crowned the winners.

Dropping figures: The new X Factor panel (L-R) Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos and Gary Barlow couldn't always compete with Strictly Come Dancing

However, the previous year, a record 19.4million watched Matt Cardle beat Rebecca Ferguson to the crown.

Meanwhile, Britain's Got Talent peaked in 2009 when 19million saw Susan Boyle lost to Diversity, with 15million watching Spellbound triumph in 2010.

He told The Sun: 'I got a bit too cocky. We got a big wake-up call.

'We went into 2011 thinking, "It's all going to be easy" and of course it wasn't. It was the year my ego was put in check.

'We all got a bit smug last year, I certainly got a bit too cocky. I ended 2010 on a real high, it was the Matt Cardle year - my favourite year - and the figures for X Factor were huge.'

As well as the fall in the UK shows, his new game show Red Or Black was surrounded in controversy when it was revealed the £1million winner Nathan Hageman had been jailed for assaulting his girlfriend.

Earlier this month, it was revealed Cowell had poached Alesha Dixon from Strictly to be a judge on the new series of Britain's Got Talent, along with David Walliams.

And after X Factor was frequently beaten by Strictly last year, Cowell was in the mood for revenge.

He said: 'I did have this plan, thinking, "You're not going to be smiling so much next year if this comes off". With us and the BBC, I laugh about it, but there is unbelievable rivalry now...

'But the Alesha thing was kind of fun. My decision to poach her was 70-30 on the fact she was on Strictly and the fact I liked her.

Newbies: Cowell admitted he was optimistic about the launch of X Factor USA with judges (L-R) Antonio 'LA' Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul

'I knew the BBC was putting on The Voice. They've done this to have a pop at The X Factor and to have a go at the BGT ratings.'

The Voice - a BBC version of the hit US show - will launch in March - the same time Britain's Got Talent hits screens.

Meanwhile, Cowell is also preparing to make 'changes' to X Factor USA.

Although the series attracted healthy ratings, they were still a long way off attracting the same audience as Cowell's former show American Idol.

Whether Antonio 'LA' Reid, Paula Abdul or Nicole Scherzinger will be returning this year or if Steve Jones continues to present the show remains to be seen.


Winners: An average of 15.5million viewers watched Little Mix win last month's X Factor



source:dailymail