Simon Cowell has told Good Morning Britain that he is not looking for anyone to replace Zayn Malik in One Direction.
Speaking to Richard Arnold, the music boss said: “No I don’t think so, they’re doing fine. When it happened [there was] no warning – nothing – and they just they were still doing these huge tours and they dealt with it.”
And on whether Louis Walsh will or won’t be a part of this year’s X Factor series, Simon said: “I’m not sitting there in the dark going ‘You know what, today I’ll fire Louis.’ It is what it is you know. But it does irritate me sometimes thinking, I’m not the only person making this decision.”
On the relationship between Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Louis Walsh, Simon said “there was always going to be a clash”: “They’ve never liked each other those two… [When Cheryl was in Girls Aloud] he was their manager. Now Louis managing a girl band, disaster, he just doesn’t do it well.”
Speaking about announcing the winner of Italia’s Got Talent as the winner of The X Factor, Simon cringed and said, embarrassed: “The funny thing was, I was being so arrogant on the day. People were saying, ‘Do you want to prep for this?’ I was like, ‘No no, I can do this, it’s so easy’ and I’d had a couple of drinks and I didn’t realise until afterwards I’d announced the wrong show and I was like, ‘Oh God, I only had one line!’”
Speaking about this year’s Britain’s Got Talent contest, Simon said, “I’ve got a feeling this year, someone we’re not really focussing on or expecting to win, could win.”
Opening up about his family and son Eric, Simon told Richard that he might encourage his son down a different route than into further education: “I always believe in that apprentice thing, where you learn from other people and that’s what I would say to him which is absolutely start at the bottom and you get to find out who you like and how you communicate with people and that’s what I would say to him. And be kind to animals.”
Joking with Richard about setting his son to work in “seven or eight years”, Simon said he’d prefer his son to work behind a desk rather than in front of the camera: “Yes, I would rather he do that, yes” he said before looking around his office and adding, “in here.”
Good Morning Britain, ITV, weekdays 6am – 8.30am