Dermot O’Leary has suggested the X Factor could have FIVE judges when it returns later this year.
The talent show’s long-time host was quizzed in several interviews this week about those rumours former judge Cheryl could make a sensational comeback.
Chatting to New magazine, he said: “Yep, so that’s five judges.”
When asked if it was actually possible to have five judges, he said: “There could be five judges. I’d like there to be five judges!
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“My producers probably wouldn’t be over the moon, with the time it would take for five judges to talk. But other than that, yeah – Cheryl, Mariah. Get six on there!”
Six? Can you imagine how long the show would be?!
Dermot’s certainly made headlines this week after Metro reported he’d confirmed Cheryl was definitely returning to the show.
“Cheryl’s going to come back,” he told the paper.
That hasn’t actually been confirmed by Cheryl or X Factor itself, with a show rep telling BBC Newsbeat: “It’s too early to comment on who’ll be on the judging panel.”
Rumours about Cheryl making an X Factor comeback have swirling for absolutely ages, and intensified last year when she popped up as a guest judge at Simon Cowell’s judges’ houses.
Cheryl was a judge on the show from 2008 until 2010, and from 2014 until 2015.
She joined X Factor boss Simon at his judges’ houses in Nice last year, sparking a wave of speculation she could re-join the panel as a full-time judge in 2018.
Then, adding more fuel to the rumours, fellow judge Louis Walsh revealed at the weekend he’s buried the hatchet with Cheryl after a long-running feud, giving his blessing for her to return.
Traditionally, the X Factor panel has four judges so if Cheryl did return, that would inevitably mean another judge had to leave…
But who?
Well, Louis recently claimed that he and Sharon Osbourne had both signed for 2018, and obviously boss Simon isn’t going anywhere.
So does that mean Nicole Scherzinger is the person at risk?
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Short answer? Who knows! But she was quoted in The Mirror over the weekend saying that Simon is “so last minute” when it comes to making decisions, so the judges never know until the month filming starts whether they are in or out.
So, you never know, perhaps there will be five judges!
And Simon will just wait until the last minute to tell us! And, er, tell the actual judges…