Cowells

Simon Cowell is set to join forces with Spice Girl icon Mel B and Jonas Brother singer Joe Jonas for a brand new show called Who’s In The Band, and a pilot will be recorded next week

One of Simon Cowell’s new projects has been described as “a big two fingers up to ITV“.

The music mogul, 66, has linked up with Netflix for Simon Cowell: The Next Act, a six-episode docuseries which will follow Simon as he searches for Britain’s next big band. He is also going to be on the judging panel of new show Who’s In The Band, which records a pilot next week.

Spice Girl icon Mel B and Jonas Brother singer Joe Jonas will work alongside Simon for the latter, which ex-TV presenter turned producer Richard Bacon says will be popular with teenagers and young adults.

But the Netflix series, Simon Cowell: The Next Act, has particularly excited the TV industry. It is believed Netflix executives “felt bringing a name like Simon in for a factual entertainment show was a power move for the network”. Another source said the programme will be “a big two fingers up to ITV” after the cancellation of The X Factor in 2021.

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But a source close to Simon, who created the global X Factor franchise, has denied there is “a rivalry”. They added: “There’s no rivalry nor residual issue – Simon’s focus is entirely on new formats and discovering talent.”

The X Factor, though, was scrapped after nearly 20 years on British TV screens and, at its peak, attracted 10 million viewers on a Saturday evening. It was the launching pad for a number of top-selling British music acts in the last two decades, from One Direction to Little Mix and Leona Lewis.

But Simon, who is thought to be worth £475million, continues to work with ITV on Britain’s Got Talent, which is still a staple after more than 18 years. His latest ventures, though, on other networks have television circles excited, it is understood.

The source told the Daily Mail: “Success on Netflix would be priceless retribution against ITV for the way The X Factor came to a close.” This theory is rejected by Simon, born in Lambeth, south London, whose new show Who’s In The Band will be presented by K-Pop Demon Hunters star Rei Ami, 30.

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Simon’s latest search for talent comes after the Britain’s Got Talent auditions was sent into chaos when he fell down another set of steps, making it the latest in a series of mishaps for the long-time judge.

He missed the first two days of filming in Birmingham after the incident, leaving producers to call in Stacey Solomon to temporarily fill his place on the panel. The star then later reappeared on the third day of auditions with a visible graze on his forehead, explaining only that he’d had “an accident.”

His absence was finally addressed during the show’s Blackpool auditions, when a choir made up of ambulance staff took to the stage. Amanda Holden joked: “I thought they might be here in case anything went wrong with you again because you were poorly last week.”

Contestants that missed out on the chance to audition for Britain’s Got Talent over the past week may soon have their moment on the stage as bosses are planning to film the lost episode

Britain’s Got Talent has been thrown into chaos after show boss Simon Cowell suffered an injury – with a scramble now on to make up for lost time. The long-running ITV reality show is currently filming the 19th season – having launched all the way back in 2007.

But the latest season got off to a bad start over the past week – as auditions planned for Thursday had to be abandoned after Simon, 65, suffered a bash to the head. Hopefuls that were expecting to be judged in Birmingham were left disappointed when an entire day of filming was scrapped.

And now show bosses are scrambling to recover the episode so that the auditionees can have their moment on the stage. The process is said to be a strain due to the last minute nature of organising filming that would normally take weeks of planning.

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A source told The Sun: “It looks like they will hold the supplementary session on Friday, then continue with the scheduled days of auditions continuing for a further week. They feel so bad for all the people left disappointed by what happened last week and want to do what they can to make things right – even though it’s going to take a lot of last-minute organising.”

The Mirror has contacted representatives of Britain’s Got Talent for comment. The update comes days after Simon was spotted with a graze on his forehead, and it was revealed he had injured himself. A source previously told The Sun: “Simon had a terrible headache and migraine – caused by an accidental bump on the head.

“He’s fighting fit now, though – and was revelling in being in Birmingham and back in his judge seat.” The Mirror has contacted Simon’s spokesperson for comment.

The man himself has addressed the drama, sharing a video of himself on social media which made light of his injury. He declared in a video shared via Instagram: “It’s Simon, I’m alive and I’m in Birmingham, I just want to say thank you for all your get well messages.”

He then focused the camera on his grazed forehead, but then produced a happy smile. As he was forced to drop out of filming at the end of last week, former X Factor contestant Stacey Solomon was parachuted in to fill the vacant judges’ seat during auditions on Friday.

The mum-of-five, 35, took to her Instagram stories to post a picture of the iconic BGT stage with her name in lights on the iconic stage. Alongside the picture, Stacey wrote: “What in the alternative universe is going on. A dream.”

Simon has previously opened up about the debilitating migraines he occasionally suffers, which interfere with his work.

He previously explained that he often wears red-tinted glasses to help counter the effects of studio and stage lighting.

The star, who turns 66 on Tuesday, has suffered a string of injuries in recent years. In 2020, he broke his back after falling off an electric bike at his Los Angeles home – an accident that required surgery and months of recovery.

Cowell, who is engaged to Lauren Silverman and father to 11-year-old Eric, described the injury as a harsh reminder of his vulnerability at the time.

In 2017, he also suffered a serious head injury after falling down the stairs at his London residence. At the time, he said: “Sometimes we get a reminder that we’re not invincible, and this was certainly mine. It was a huge shock.

“They think I fainted because I had low blood pressure and so I have got to really take good care of myself to sort that out. After all I am a dad and have more responsibility than ever,” he told his fans at the time.

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