Take That star to replace Cowell on 'X Factor'
Simon Cowell has confirmed Gary Barlow will be a judge on this year's 'X Factor'.
The music mogul – who, along with Cheryl Cole, has quit his place on the judging panel to launch the US version of the talent show – revealed the Take That singer will replace him on the ITV1 programme and is the only judge to have signed a contract so far.
Simon said: “Gary Barlow is the first person confirmed.”
Before Gary was officially confirmed for the role, Simon was championing him, saying he would be the perfect judge.
He said: "I think he would be terrific on it. He's very competitive."
While regular judges Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue are yet to sign their contracts, it is widely believed 'Strictly Coming Dancing' panellist Alesha Dixon is being tipped to join them as the fourth judge.
However, Simon says nothing is confirmed and while he won’t be on the panel, he will still be heavily involved with the show.
He said: "I'm not worried about it being a success. I promise you I'm still going to be involved in the show. We are literally making it up on a daily basis and I really mean that. We are trying to come up with the best idea."
Due to Gary’s involvement, ITV bosses have now pushed back auditions until later this month and are working on dates which will allow him to perform with Take That on their stadium tour, ‘Progress Live’, which starts on May 27 in Sunderland and finishes with eight nights at London’s Wembley Stadium in July.
