Dermot O’Leary is set to return to host The X Factor UK, according to The Sun.
Reportedly, the host has agreed to return to the ITV talent show just one year after leaving. He’s got the full backing of producer Simon Cowell, the paper says.
Details are still being sorted out, but insiders say Dermot, previously paid £1million a series, can “name his price” on a potential three-year contract.
Last year’s hosts Olly Murs and Caroline Flack are confirmed to be leaving the show amid criticisms that their performances were poor.
“Everyone, including Dermot and Simon, has the will to make it work,” says the insider. “Producers have realised you can’t take any risks with the presenter of the show. You need someone really good who can cope with live TV. It is a massive skill and there are not many people who have it.”
No kidding. You’d think Simon of all people would understand the obvious. Did he not learn anything from X Factor US when he hired talent-free Khloe Kardashian to co-host with Mario Lopez and it was a disaster? I never understood why Simon let go of Dermot in the first place. He kept that ship sailing like it was the most effortless task in the world. That’s how the good ones, like Ryan Seacrest, do it. They make it look easy.
Now, Dermot is in the position to ask for more money than ever before. “There is even talk Dermot could be offered the presenting job for the rest of the show’s life when a new deal is signed with ITV,” says the source. “Bosses are looking at a two or three-year contract for him.”
Via The Sun
