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Twitter Convinced Simon Cowell He’d ‘Screwed Up’ By Dropping Dermot O’Leary

The talent show boss admits it was the flood of comments on the social media site that led to him finally bringing back the popular X Factor presenter.

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Copyright: PA Wire

Simon has admitted it was a mistake to drop the experienced TV host and is glad he was told off for his mistake by disgruntled fans online.

Speaking about bringing back the original line-up, which included Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne as judges, the father-of-one said: ‘The good thing about having a Twitter account is they [viewers] tell you what they think, it’s a bit like your mum and dad when they go, ‘Simon, you have screwed up’.

‘It wasn’t anyone’s fault, I just didn’t realise how much the viewers missed everyone. In a strange way, that’s what I learnt, so this line-up was the easiest decision we have ever made, there was no speculation, it was just this is who’s going to be on the show.’

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The X Factor team in 2007 (Copyright: Wenn)

He added: ‘Me and Sharon are a bit like Tom and Jerry, but we love each other secretly, and Nicole is slightly nuts, I love that.Then there’s Dermot, I missed him so much.

Dermot was dropped last year so that Caroline Flack and Olly Murs could step up from presenting the Xtra Factor and it’s fair to assume the reunion with his former employee should have been “awkward”.

But according to Mail Online, Simon said: 'Dermot came to see me in LA about three months ago and I hadn’t seen him for a while. I was so happy to see him, I think he thought it was going to be an awkward conversation. I just said, ‘There’s nothing to be awkward about, I should have phoned you, you should have phoned me, everyone misses you so come back’.

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Copyright: Wenn

He added: ‘That was it and I think it’s been good in a way because I think you can take him for granted. I think Olly and Caroline did a great job but the public relate this show to Dermot, so now he’s back, and even I look at him in the clips and think, ‘God, he’s so good!’’

The new series of The X Factor kicks off at 8pm on ITV August 27.