Simon Cowell ‘didn’t have a clue’ who the X Factor: Celebrity contestants were before filming

Simon Cowell has said he "didn't have a clue" who the X Factor: Celebrity contestants were before filming.

The music mogul said he reckoned it was the "only condition" he had to doing a celebrity version of the music competition. He explained to The Mirror:

"I said to the team, 'You’ve got to find some acts who you believe can sell records off the back of this, because if you don’t do that it won’t work.' "So that was the deal and we stuck to it. I swear to God I didn’t have a clue who any of the acts were. I did walk away thinking, 'If we’re smart, we have artists here who could actually sell records off the back of this'. "So I thought that was fun and very exciting for the show. They do say a change is as good as a rest…"

The dad-of-one also said is was important to for a change to the X Factor format after 14 seasons - noting how "change in any aspect is good." He continued:

"Sometimes you’ve got to take a break of at least a year, two years between signing one kind of group and then launching another. "And it’s the same with The X Factor. You can’t just keep making the same show that it was 14 years ago and expect it to be the same show today. "You’ve got to take a step back for a little while."