Simon Cowell appears to most to be the man with the Midas touch, bringing TV juggernauts The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent to our screens. Unlikely then that he would have have a new business venture turned down. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened when he approached DJ Fatboy Slim about a new reality TV show he is developing, Ultimate DJ, which aims to seek out aspiring record spinners.
Simon Cowell was recently turned down by Fatboy Slim
"Simon Cowell was talking about doing a show and everyone in the business, he kind of started approaching us, and we were like… 'No – that's a terrible idea," the DJ – real name Norman Cook – told Digital Spy. The 51-year-old went on to say the "good thing" about dance music is that "it grows organically"."It's not something that can be scripted or transported into a TV studio," he added.
DJ Fatboy Slim - aka Norman Cook
"I get offered loads of TV shows and they're like, 'Can you perform for five minutes?' But DJ-ing takes two hours and an audience. It's not like you can go out there and sing your latest song. Because of that, it will always remain slightly outside the mainstream." Norman also revealed that he gets plenty of reality show offers. "I've been offered everything from the family tree one to the jungle to Strictly," he said. "They ask me to do Strictly every year, because I kind of know them through Zoe (Ball, his wife).
Fatboy Slim with wife Zoe Ball
"A: my approach to dancing is somewhat more freestyle than Strictly, and B: the whole reality TV thing doesn't do it for me. "Some of them I like watching, but I wouldn't want to be in them. When Big Brother first came out, me and Zoe were like, 'Oh, I'd love to go in there and find out where you go to in your head.' But what I wouldn't want is for it to be filmed and shown to everyone else. All your cracks come out."