According to the Sun, pop manager Louis Walsh has quit pop reality show The X Factor after a number of run-ins with his fellow judges, Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne. Walsh is apparently annoyed that Osbourne threw three glasses of water over him on last week's show, and that Cowell called him "an idiot" on Monday.
The tabloid quote Walsh as saying: "I have been totally humiliated and undermined by both of them. This has caused me nothing but stress. I have had enough. I'm going back to Dublin. I'm not putting up with it any more."
Cowell has reportedly been begging Louis to come back to the show, telling the paper: "I've been called all sorts of things but I have taken it in the spirit it was meant. I have known Louis for years. I know what a success he is. If I offended him, I apologise. We want him back."
Of course there has been rising on-screen tension between the three X-Factor judges in recent weeks, with a number of evicted contestants claiming that whatever judge had the casting vote to drop them from the show did so simply to piss off a fellow judge, and not based on their genuine opinion of different finalists' musical abilities. Walsh's departure might be the conclusion of these rising tensions. Or it might just be a publicity stunt from a show that has always marketed itself around the competitiveness that exists between its three judges. Either way, Walsh's much hyped departure, even if it proves to be short lived, is sure to boost ratings for the reality show this weekend.
Elsewhere in X Factor news, Journey South are now equal favourites to win the overall competition. Ladbrokes have set their odds at 7/4, the same as long time favourite Shayne Ward whose chances, some bookies say, are now declining.