Simon Cowell thinks 'The X Factor' is "shambolic."
Simon Cowell
The show boss, 56, has vowed to take the ITV reality TV show "back to basics" after last week's live Judges' Houses left the desperate contestants begging for a place in the final 12 on national television.
He's quoted by the Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: "As far as this week goes, it's back to basics. Last weekend I was like, 'Woah'. It was too crazy. I had just been back a day from America and was jet-lagged. I walked on to the show and hadn't a clue what was going on half the time."
He added: "Then I realised, 'Oh my God, they've been asked to beg - I can't do this.' So we stopped it on day two. Uncomfortable? It was horrific, so that's scrapped 100 per cent. It was shambolic."
However, the tough-talking judge - who is mentoring the Over 25s category - believes the awkward show last week gave him the encouragement he needed to axe some elements of the new format.
He explained: "It certainly gave me a kick up the a*** and made me look at this week. I don't know whose decision it was and I'm not blaming anyone. It just wasn't right. The groups went up and suddenly were like begging."
And Simon thinks hosts Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who were asking the contestants why they deserved a place in the next round, were "thrown into the lions' den a bit."
Tagged in Olly Murs Simon Cowell Caroline Flack