Louis Walsh has admitted his embarrassment at slating Sharon Osbourne’s daughter right before he started working with her.
The cheeky Irish music mogul, 71, has been reunited with his X Factor co-star as they take part in the newest series of Celebrity Big Brother. The pair have already been getting up to mischief as they judged all the housemates based on their first impressions.
But ahead of going into the house, Walsh admitted that he thought he had made a rod for his own back after he slandered Sharon’s daughter for her singing abilities. In 2003, Walsh was still on top of his game as he managed chart-topping boyband Boyzone.
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Following the success of the band, Louis was approached to take part in a new TV format that was being developed. This would later turn into The X Factor, although Louis was initially hesitant on joining the line-up – alongside Sharon and Simon Cowell.
(Image: FilmMagic)
Speaking to betting agency Ladbrokes Live, Louis said of the experience: “It was all so new to me; I was scared, because I was working with Simon and Sharon who were just these seasoned pros when it came to television. I knew Cowell really well, obviously, because we’d done Westlife together, so I’d be talking to him all of the time.
“But I didn’t know Sharon,” he continued, “and the thing was, I’d been on Radio 1 a few weeks before filming had started, reviewing songs, and one of the songs that came up was Kelly Osbourne’s Papa Don’t Preach. And I had said how bad I thought it was, and that this girl should not be making pop music… not knowing that Sharon was going to be on X Factor! And so obviously Kelly hated me, but we all became really good friends afterwards.”
As well as this, Walsh opened up that he had “no idea” how big the show would eventually become, adding that he has no recollection of the first contestant who auditioned for the trio. Louis said that due to having little to no experience on TV, he was petrified of failing on the show – but as time went on he settled into the role.
(Image: WireImage)
“It just got so big, as a show,” Louis recalled. “Families used to watch it together on a Saturday night, nobody went out, they stayed in to watch it… it was just crazy.
“I actually couldn’t handle it, at one time; everywhere I went, people would talk to me about X Factor. Everybody had an opinion; cab drivers, shop workers, people in the street; everybody would talk to me about the show, who they liked, and who they didn’t like… and I had no idea it was going to be that big.”
Louis also spoke of his desire to bring back the show, which eventually was cancelled in 2019 due to a consistent drop in ratings. However, he insisted that he would only consider a return if the judging panel only consisted of him, Sharon and Simon.
(Image: Jonathan Hordle/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)
“I wouldn’t mind guest judges here and there, I think that kind of worked,” he added. “But the three of us just clicked for some reason, even though Simon and Sharon didn’t really speak that much outside of the show.”
Since the show ended, Louis has continued to work in the music industry, putting together new bands in both Ireland and the UK. His newest venture, a six-piece boyband called Next In Line, attempted to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, but failed to impress the Irish public and lost out.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
