X Factor: Simon Cowell Had Plans To Cut Nick Grimshaw Mid-Series

Simon Cowell reportedly called Nick Grimshaw a ‘dead man walking’ and had plans to cut him mid-series according to new reports.

Copyright: [Rex]

An insider close to the show has told The Sun that Simon was unimpressed with Nick before the live shows even began and doubted his decision to have him on the panel ‘almost immediately’.

“Grimmy has been a dead man walking for a long time. His time on the X Factor was numbered from day one,” the source told the paper, adding:

“Simon rightly wanted to attract a younger audience so he approached Grimmy and Rita Ora because he thought they would allow the show to appeal to that demographic.

"So there’s no doubt he wanted him at first, but that all changed almost immediately.”

Copyright: [ITV]

“There was even talk of getting rid of him mid series, but that would have been too embarrassing and to be fair Grimmy’s performance did improve during the live rounds.”

It was even suggested that Nick’s performance was edited to make him look ‘boring’ however the source dispels this suggestion saying that Simon wouldn’t risk jeopradising the show’s success.

The source explained: “The weird thing is that people who went down to watch the auditions being filmed said Grimmy came across really well.

"Then when the show aired, he barely featured. That has led to some people suggesting he was badly edited on purpose because Simon had already turned against him.

Copyright: [Rex]

"In truth that makes no sense as Simon always wants the best for his shows. The reality is that Grimmy was panned by the public after the first episode in August and Simon made his mind up then.

"Just because you are good live, it doesn’t mean you come across well on TV. Simon pays a huge amount of attention to audience feedback. He invests a lot of money, paying people to conduct the research and Grimmy was tanking in all the polls.

"In Simon’s eyes he became the fall guy for last year’s drop in ratings. He may be a massive name on Radio One, but his face just didn’t fit on TV.”

Meanwhile, Nick maintains that it was his decision to leave and that there is no ‘bad blood’.