I turned down the gig eventually given to Simon Cowell back in 2000... One reason was because I'd done that sort of thing before (in the 60s and 70s) and turned down similar offers from shows like New Faces because I'd done it before and will not repeat myself; second reason; the Yankees and Mets were in the World Series and there was no way I would miss all the October baseball games in New York (all of which I DID attend)... and third reason - I wasn't keen on the "public humiliation of deluded individuals" element.

So bang went a £2million offer and off I went to New York |(Nigel did the gig as "nasty Nigel").

I've never regretted it.

Simon (who I suggested as my replacement) went on to mild success.

I watched deluded individuals get publicly humiliated at the Old Bailey - but that's another story.

And, watching the current series of X Factor, I'm delighted I refused that offer.

Rien, rien de rien, rien, Je ne regrette rien.

JK2006 wrote:
I wasn't keen on the "public humiliation of deluded individuals" element.
Are the judges actually laughing at the contestants or are those bits edited in from elsewhere in the show?