After months of speculation and rumoured talks, show bosses confirmed that Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw will be sitting on the X Factor panel alongside veteran judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini. Now that the secret's out, head honcho Simon has spoken about why his two new recruits signed up.
The music mogul sent a text to his friend and Britain's Got Talent co-star Amanda Holden, who later read the message out aloud on This Morning.
"I've got a message on my phone, and I'm more surprised he's replied to be honest!" said Amanda. "He has said about it – 'I'm very happy, they were all agreed because of their excitement for the show and how much they want to find someone special. Nobody has signed up for the money, it was passion for being on The X Factor'."
© Photo: Getty Images"Nobody has signed up for the money, it was passion for being on The X Factor," said Simon Cowell
Simon also took to Twitter to reach out to his fans, admitting that he has "no idea what the show will look like" following the new panel shake-up, but that he is both "excited and nervous" about it.
"The best kept secret in TV is out!!" wrote Simon. "But I am really happy with the new judging line up for X Factor this year. It's going to be a lot of fun.
"We met a lot of people. I really believe everyone on the show this year is excited about finding someone who has star potential. It's going to be very different! Embrace the madness..."
Nick Grimshaw, Cheryl and Rita Ora will sit alongside Simon Cowell on the judging panel
The 55-year-old also welcomed back his "favourite lil brat" Cheryl, who was famously axed from the US version of the show in 2011 but made a triumphant return to the UK set last year.
The upcoming series will also see Caroline Flack and former X Factor runner-up Olly Murs present the show. Caroline featured on This Morning, sharing her thoughts about the judging panel over the phone.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCaroline Flack, who will be presenting with Olly Murs, said of the line-up: "I think it's young, fresh, relevant"
"I think it's absolutely brilliant. I think it's young, fresh, relevant… and I think [this] one big change will make it really interesting again," said Caroline.
On DJ and radio host Nick joining, the pretty brunette added: "He knows what's going on in music at the minute more than anyone else. He knows what sells, he knows what gets radio play and I think he's also got a great sense of humour… I think he's going to be brilliant."
