Fifth Judge. Image from heatworld.com
The current line up includes Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne, Nicole Scherzinger and Gary Barlow. Image from sofeminine.co.uk
(From left to right): SInitta in St Tropez and Simon Cowell boards his flight back to the UK with pregnant girlfriend Lauren Silverman. Images from dailymail.co.uk
The X Factor producers have teased us by releasing a
statement declaring that there will be a fifth judge who will be announced on
Friday. There is growing speculation over who this fifth judge is. However we
can almost certainly rule out Cheryl Cole and Alexandra Burke. Cole famously
got fired from the X Factor USA and since then has been focusing on her own
personal projects and has well and truly left the X Factor stage of her career
behind. Alexandra Burke appeared as a guest judge in 2011 and was slated by the
critics and audience alike.
This only leaves one candidate for fifth judge and that is Simon Cowell. It cannot be a coincidence that Cowell has just flown into the UK the same week that the fifth judge is set to be announced? The X Factor is his 'baby' and guiding the show to becoming a ratings success is a top priority for the music mogul. The show has had to compete with popular BBC productions such as The Voice and Strictly Come Dancing, which X Factor goes head to head against in the ratings wars. Last year saw more viewers tuning into Strictly than X Factor, so who better to boast the ratings than the King of mean himself?
Although Simon Cowell is a judge on X Factor USA which starts on September 11, we have not been told how long this fifth judge's role will last, so it is possible that Simon could be a temporary guest judge until his X Factor USA commitments begin.
Another possibility is that it could be Sinitta, 80s pop star and Simon's ex girlfriend. She was recently spotted joining Simon on his holiday in St Tropez, alongside his lover Lauren Silverman. This in itself seems odd that Sinitta would gatecrash a romantic reconciliation. So the fact that she did suggests that Simon may have enlisted her on board the X Factor machine and wanted her there, to talk business before the fifth judge is announced. With music experience and small appearances on the show she could be in the running for this role. All that is left to do now is to sit and wait for the fifth judge to be announced. Is there a chance that it could be Simon or Sinitta? What do you think?
Stepping Out
“@digitalspybrk: Mel B to judge ITV dance show 'Stepping Out'? http://dspy.me/16gcMtD ” ????
Louise Thompson 
Victoria BakerHarber 
michelle heaton 
Bobby Cole Norris