Geordie singer ousted from US talent show because executives judged that viewers could not understand her
It was supposed to be Cheryl Cole's big transatlantic break – but the geordie singer's attempt to succeed in Hollywood lasted little more than a fortnight after a big TV network lost confidence in her ability to win over the public in a US version of Simon Cowell's The X Factor.
Cowell had insisted she join him on the show – broadcasting in the US for the first time this year – but, in a rare setback for the music mogul, Cole was simply unable to convince executives at Fox that her distinctive accent would be understood by American viewers.
According to TMZ – the influential celebrity gossip site which broke the story – Cole's accent was "too thick", and there was a "lack of chemistry" with Paula Abdul, a fellow judge and friend of Cowell. Cole was said to be "royally pissed" off over how the situation.
Although no formal confirming the decision had been statement was released, several sources confirmed that Cole's departure had been all but agreed, triggering hopes that she would return to the judging panel of the ITV show just in time for the first auditions in Birmingham this weekend.
Nicole Scherzinger, a former Pussycat Doll who had been lined up to present the US version of the talent show with Steve Jones, was immediately installed as favourite to replace Cole.
"It looks like she has been done over," said one UK friend, who thought that returning to ITV would at least be a source of consolation. "She'd make the UK show, and she'd have a story to tell about what happened in the US." The pressure of filming in the US means that Cowell is unlikely to be able to appear in all the X Factor live shows in Britain.
No other ITV judges have yet been confirmed – although it has been reported that Take That's Gary Barlow is expected to sign up and Louis Walsh continue – even though the Birmingham audition is days away. However, a frustrated Dannii Minogue walked out of talks because producers would not shift audition dates to allow her to work on Australia's Got Talent as well.
Simon Cowell is desperate to ensure the success of the X Factor US. Cole's arrival at the first day of filming earlier this month was greeted with positive coverage from the Sun, part of Fox's parent company, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
"America X Cheryl" the tabloid declared at the time, reporting: "Cheryl Cole dazzled America with her US X Factor debut, with co-judge Paula Abdul declaring her 'lovely' and FOUR contestants asking for her phone number."
That help did not prove to be sufficient. Cole, television sources in Los Angeles indicated, was an unexpectedly nervous performer in auditions, and, they added, could not win over Mike Darnell, the influential reality show chief even in an Anglophile Fox network. Darnell helped bring Cowell to the US and launch American Idol 10 years ago, and the programme rapidly became the top-rated TV show on American US television, making Cowell one of the biggest stars in the country. He is no longer on the Idol judging panel.
Ironically, the news leaked on to the TMZ website at 4pm on Wednesday – just before the final of the latest season of American Idol, a show which has performed better without Cowell than many expected. The executive producer is still Simon Fuller – a man Cowell is determined to best. The ratings for the final were 29.3m viewers, up 21% on last year.
It would not be the first time that there have been sudden changes to the judging panel on a Cowell show. Louis Walsh was dumped as a judge on the ITV1 version of The X Factor in 2007 only to make a rapid return three months later. And Kelly Brook was hired and then fired as a judge on Cowell's other ITV1 talent show, Britain's Got Talent, in 2009.