Yahoo News TV stars who were the last to know they'd been fired
There's so much drama on TV already, but sometimes the juiciest stuff goes down behind the scenes.
A celebrity is never safe in their job, as proven time and time again by these stars who, although at the top of their game, were unceremoniously booted from their shows without warning. In fact, they were the last to know.
The fallout is never good, but some have managed to recover more than others. Just check out our list below.
1. Cheryl – The X Factor USA
Probably the biggest controversy The X Factor has ever faced – and it wasn't even the UK version! Cheryl was invited by Simon Cowell to feature in the first season of The US X Factor to kick-start her career in America, but things quickly turned sour when US TV execs decided things just weren't working.
Despite being best pals, Simon didn't tell Cheryl to her face, and the pair ended up falling out for years. After throwing shade left, right and centre she forgave him in the end, and by 2014 the pair were back to being close.
"Now I can say that Simon was right to get rid of me," she told Elle. "I wasn't well in the head when that was going on, so it wasn't going to work. But he wasn't right not to tell me to my face."
2. Tom Jones – The Voice UK
After being on the panel since the start, Sir Tom had become a favourite with fans. However, the BBC wasn't quite so keen, and it axed him with only a day's warning.
Tom told viewers that the decision was made with "no conversation of any kind", and he was replaced by Boy George in a matter of hours for the fifth series of the show.
Was it a good choice by the BBC? Well, the show continued to disappoint in the ratings and then moved to ITV, so we'll leave that one up to you.
3. Kelly Brook – Britain's Got Talent
Many questioned the choice to hire Kelly for Britain's Got Talent, and it turns out they were right to. The glamour model-turned-actress was fired after just six short days on the panel.
The star was given the boot over the phone after hearing rumblings that she was getting the axe, and she was left "stunned and angry" by the decision. The official word was that a fourth panellist just wasn't working. But it seems to work well enough now...
4. Marty McKenna
The Geordie Shore star, famous for getting his manhood out at basically any occasion possible, took to Twitter earlier this week to claim he'd been fired from the show.
In a series of tweets, Chloe Ferry's ex wrote: "So I won't be going back to @mtvgeordieshore as I've been sacked according to a few people."
"Yeh mate funny how every one else know before f**king me," added the seemingly frustrated star, who's been on the show since 2016.
He later deleted the tweets, but there's still been no official word from MTV execs as to whether he'll be given the boot. We doubt his online rant will have helped his chances.
5. Nicole Scherzinger – The X Factor USA
The US X Factor's first season really didn't let anyone get out alive, did it? First Cheryl was given the boot, then when the viewing figures came in Fox decided to get rid of Paula Abdul, Steve Jones and Nicole Scherzinger – but they were the last ones to hear about it.
"What happened? Well, all I know is that I gave 110% to that show," Nicole said at the time. "I know everybody's talking about it, they're saying good, bad, they love me or hate me, but the one thing you can't say is that I didn't give it my all."
She was also given the boot from the UK version in 2013 – the former Pussycat Doll couldn't catch a break – but since being invited back last year, her feud with Simon has become a thing of the past.
6. Brian Dowling – Big Brother
As one of the most iconic stars to emerge from Big Brother, Brian seemed like a no-brainer to fill in for Davina McCall when the show moved to Channel 5. However, despite making great reality TV, it turned out presenting BB wasn't really his forte and viewers didn't warm to him.
There were rumblings for months that he was going to be replaced, despite being under contract for a further two years, and then news broke that execs were replacing him with Emma Willis.
He later told The Irish Mirror: "I couldn't do anything for the rest of 2013 because I was still in contract with Big Brother."
Poor Brian.
7. Louis Walsh – The X Factor
The music mogul, who had been a part of the show since it began way back in 2004, suddenly found himself at risk after constantly insisting he had a job for life on The X Factor.
As the show scrambled to bring viewers back in 2015, reports emerged that Louis' place wasn't guaranteed.
Turns out the reports were accurate, and he was quickly replaced by Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw – who themselves only lasted on the panel for a year. Ouch. Apparently loyalty on TV only lasts as long as the ratings.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
You Might Also Like
