Louis Walsh: 'Simon Cowell talking to Britney Spears for X Factor USA'

Louis Walsh: 'Simon Cowell talking to Britney Spears for X Factor USA'

Louis Walsh has revealed details on the upcoming runs of The X Factor UK and The X Factor USA.

Back in December, Walsh wrapped the recent ITV series of X Factor with fellow judges Tulisa Contostavlos, Gary Barlow and Kelly Rowland, and host Dermot O'Leary.

Speaking on Craig Doyle Live, Walsh spoke about the future of the UK judging panel, casting doubt over the future of Rowland.

He said: "I don't know. OK, I think I'll be back, I think Gary will be back. I think Tulisa will be back. Dermot's definitely back!

"I'm not sure about Kelly. I'm not sure. No-one is contracted guys. I loved Nicole Scherzinger."

Doyle then pressed Walsh on whether that meant Scherzinger would be joining the ITV show, to which Walsh immediately said: "No, honestly not."

However, Walsh did tease what could be happening in the US version of the singing competition.

"I was out with Simon Cowell during the week, he's in London," he said. "You know like you do and I know he is talking to Britney. He's definitely talking to Britney to do his American show. Absolutely true!"

Cowell previously said that Spears would enjoy judging X Factor USA.

Paralympics 2012 coverage on Channel 4 to be fronted by Adam Hills

Paralympics 2012 coverage on Channel 4 to be fronted by Adam Hills

Comedian Adam Hills has joined the Channel 4 team for its coverage of the London 2012 Paralympics.

Hills, who previously covered the Beijing Paralympics for ABC in Australia, will work alongside Clare Balding, basketball medallist Ade Adepitan and T4's Rick Edwards. Hills was born without a right leg and has a prosthetic replacement.

British triple jump athletics star Jonathan Edwards has signed up for the commentary team, while Jon Snow will front the opening and closing ceremonies.

Channel 4 vowed when they won the rights to the Paralympics that half of their presenters would be disabled.

Other anchors and presenters signed up include Irish TV star Daráine Mulvihill, former Royal Marine Arthur Williams, Paralympic swimmer Rachael Latham, wheelchair basketball player Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, ex carpenter Martin Dougan, researcher Liam Holt and sports writer Alex Brooker.

Channel 4 controller Jay Hunt claimed that it was a "huge privilege" for Channel 4 to broadcast the Paralympic Games 2012 and described it as a chance to "make a difference to the perception of disability and disability sport".

"I'm thrilled to announce this brilliant and carefully selected team of presenters and reporters; a mix of broadcasting heavyweights and new faces including disabled talent," said Hunt.

"Our coverage will contain in-depth analysis and intelligent, frank and thought-provoking insight from people who are equipped to bring these incredible but little-understood sports to a broad mainstream audience and help us to make this the biggest Paralympic Games ever.

"We will be on air before the sport of the day begins and until the last flag has been rolled up and put away with all the action, expert comment and analysis and specially commissioned breakfast and tea time shows.

"This is a 400% increase on the coverage the Paralympics has ever received in this country and will make it impossible to ignore."

Channel 4 is promising that the Paralympics will be the biggest broadcasting event in its history and the 150 hours of coverage will be the most ever on British television for the Paralympics.

'The Voice' is derivative, says ITV exec Adam Crozier

'The Voice' is derivative, says ITV exec Adam Crozier

ITV's chief executive Adam Crozier has taken a swipe at BBC One's new Saturday night entertainment show The Voice.

In a discussion about entertainment formats, Crozier claimed that he was looking for a new programme that moved away in style from hits such as Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor.

"Of course Britain's Got Talent and X Factor are important programmes on the entertainment side," Crozier told journalists.

"A lot of these shows have been running for some time and it is sensible to look at new ideas. The last two or three years there really hasn't been anything new around. Probably only The Voice and even that is a derivative of some of the shows around."

He added: "In the last 10 to 15 years there has not been that many breakthrough ideas. It is the way you craft things and put them together that makes the difference."

Crozier has invested around £12.5 million in ITV Studios to fund the production of pilots in the search for a new entertainment show success for the broadcaster.

BBC One controller Danny Cohen defended his channel's investment in musical reality series The Voice at the Edinburgh TV Festival last year. Cohen claimed that the battle he had with ITV1 for the rights to the show justified the sizable cost of the show.

"The fact that ITV tried very hard to get it - even though they've got The X Factor - suggests that they feel this show is different enough," he said.

The Voice launches in March on BBC One and is expected to go head-to-head in the schedule with Britain's Got Talent.

'Batman Begins' star Linus Roache joins ABC sci-fi pilot

'Batman Begins' star Linus Roache joins ABC sci-fi pilot

Linus Roache has joined a new ABC drama pilot from Independence Day's Roland Emmerich.

The project focuses on Carter (Max Thieriot), a science student who learns that he is the chosen one to destroy the forces of evil.

Batman Begins star Roache will play Senator Teras, an enigmatic politician with ambitions for the White House, according to Deadline.

The actor played Michael Cutter on Law & Order from 2008 to 2010 and recently reprised the role on spinoff Law & Order: SVU.

He will next be seen in ITV's Titanic, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Veteran actor Martin Landau was previously cast in Emmerich's pilot. The North by Northwest star will play blind German ex-soldier Mr Armin.

Emmerich will direct and also co-wrote his new pilot with 2012 and 10,000 BC collaborator Harald Kloser.

Other drama pilots picked up by ABC include Shawn Ryan's Last Resort with Robert Patrick and Glee's Max Adler and supernatural thriller 666 Park Avenue starring Lost's Terry O'Quinn and Charlie's Angels actress Rachael Taylor.

'Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen: 'My mum was shocked by lesbian scenes'

'Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen: 'My mum was shocked by lesbian scenes'

Alfie Allen has revealed that he avoids watching Game of Thrones with his parents to escape embarrassment during the show's explicit sex scenes.

Allen, who appeared nude in the first season of the George R R Martin fantasy adaptation, admitted that on the one occasion he did watch the show with his parents, his mother Alison was taken aback by the sexual antics.

"We don't watch it together as a family," said Allen. "There was one time where I was with my mum and accidentally watched it.

"Ros (Esmé Bianco) was involved in a really graphic lesbian sex scene and my mum was just so shocked. That was pretty funny. We don't watch it together anymore though, that's for sure."

He also said that he was loving being an uncle following the birth of his sister Lily's first child Ethel last November.

"Oh, it's great. I'm as hands-on as I can be," he said.

"But new mums are very protective of their newborn babies, as you'd expect them to be. [Lily] is just loving it and she's doing great. They're all doing really well."

Teasing his expanded role as Theon Greyjoy in the second season of Thrones, the 25-year-old said: "I basically get sent back to Pike to form an alliance with my family. Things go kind of alright for him, but he has a big identity crisis. When he meets the Starks, he's tried to be a Stark, but now he's back with the Greyjoys he has to prove to them that he is a Greyjoy.

"So he makes lots of wrong decisions trying to prove himself. I think we can all relate to that."

Game of Thrones's second season starts on April 1 on HBO in the US and on April 2 on Sky Atlantic in the UK.

'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' beats 'Prisoners' Wives' in 9pm hour

'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' beats 'Prisoners' Wives' in 9pm hour

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings recovered from last week's dip by winning the 9pm hour last night, according to overnight data.

The Channel 4 programme, which suffered against the Brit Awards seven days earlier, attracted 4.22m (17.6%) beating Prisoners' Wives (4.05m/169%).

Gypsy Weddings took an extra 948k (5.6%) on timeshift, once again ending up as the most-watched multichannel show of the night.

Elsewhere on Channel 4, Supersize v Superskinny drew 2.31m (10.3%) from 8pm and Shameless continued with 1.65m (9.9%) in the 10pm hour.

Without the Brit Awards, ITV1 once again struggled on Tuesday night with The Exit List and The Biggest Loser taking 1.55m (6.9%) and 2.21m (9.3%) respectively. A further 168k (1%) caught The Biggest Loser on +1.

Meanwhile, BBC Two aired Alex Polizzi: The Fixer (2.17m/9.6%) and Horizon (2.9m/12.1%).

On Channel 5, Body of Proof's penultimate episode of season one grabbed 1.43m (6%) from 9pm and an instalment of The True Story at 8pm averaged 1.14m (5.1%).

Overall, BBC One convincingly won primetime with 22.8%. ITV1 came second with 11.8% (+1: 0.5%), though Channel 4's 10.7% was backed up by a considerably stronger timeshift rating of 1.7%.

BBC Two had 9% and Channel 5 ended up with 4.7%.

On ITV2, a new Vampire Diaries episode drew 389k (1.6%) from 9pm and an additional 115k (0.7%) on +1.

Meat Loaf on 'Glee': 'I'll never put it down'

Meat Loaf on 'Glee': 'I'll never put it down'

Meat Loaf has said that he would never disrespect Glee.

The singer told that despite not even watching the 2010 Rocky Horror episode in which he starred, he had no problem with the show reinterpreting songs from the past.

"I don't think anything of it, if people like it and they enjoy it," he said. "They have viewers and the people who watch it really love it.

"To me anything is viable. I don't like all kinds of music but that doesn't mean it's not viable. I'm never going to put it down. Was I a fan of disco? Not particularly. But that didn't mean I wouldn't be respectful to the artist."

Meat Loaf continued: "Would I buy a Picasso? No, I don't like that, I'm into impressionistic art. But people love Picasso. What am I gonna do, cut him up?

"Everybody likes something different and that's what makes the world different and go around."

He added of his own career: "At least I've never been mediocre. People either love me or they hate me. And that's fine. I'd rather be to the extreme because that's the kind of artist I am."