Cheryl has given her thoughts on a potential X Factor reboot and admits the show would need some serious changes to air today.
The singer, who is gearing up for her role as Jenny in 2:22 A Ghost Story on London's West End, was part of the judging panel alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh in the show's heyday. Cheryl, 39, described the ITV singing competition as 'Simon's baby' as she admits it would need 'completely reformatted' before airing again.
The X Factor was the birthplace of many stars including Leona Lewis, One Direction, Alexandra Burke, Stacey Solomon, and more. Speaking about her upcoming West End debut, Cheryl mused about the potential return to The Independent telling the publication the over 25s category was 'inappropriate' and would need to go.
Noting how television has changed over the years, Cheryl said it’s "not the same as when everyone was gathered on the sofa on Saturday because the X Factor was the biggest thing on TV."
Discussing the future of the show, the mother of one added she's unsure if the demand is still there for the X Factor following a four-year hiatus. She said: “I mean, I think it’s Simon’s baby, so I think he would struggle to admit that maybe not. I don’t know if the public want it anymore. We had Pop Idol before that, then Popstars, then us.”
Cheryl - who shares her son Bear, 5, with former One Direction star Liam Payne - continues: “It’s not the same as when everyone was gathered on the sofa on Saturday because X Factor was the biggest thing on TV. So, ‘I don’t know’ is the answer, but the public would have... it would have to be what they want.”
She says on a potential reboot 'it would have to be totally reformatted' because grouping older contestants as 'overs' would be considered 'inappropriate'. Another reason is because of the binary approach to gender is now reductive adding: "You’d have to have a gender-neutral option."
X Factor finalist Lucy Spraggan has spoken out against the show and said there was “absolutely no offer of support for anyone’s mental health”. Having dealt with her own mental health struggles, Cheryl said if the X Factor came back it would 'absolutely' need to have more mental health checks in place.
“I think [because] I was going through it myself and in my world so much, I didn’t really realise there wasn’t that in place. I just assumed there was,” she concluded.
“You have to have a certain amount of mental strength to get through an experience like this,” she says. “You’re going to be criticised daily, whether you like it or not, on social media," Cheryl added to the publication.
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