Simon cowell
The cruelty of reality TV was part of the appeal
Jade Goody appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She was a short, loud, blonde-haired woman who broadcast her every thought…
The X Factor made all the right people cross
On hearing that the X Factor is no more after our 17 years together, I reflected on what a journey…
What makes a cad (and why this was such a good year for them)
From Lord Sewel to – let’s not be sexist – Sally Bercow, there’s life in the old rogue yet
Is television at its best when it mimics radio?
Not that long ago the BBC trumpeted a new Stakhanovite project to big up the arts in its many and…
From ragtime to the X Factor: the epic story of popular music
As pop music drifts away from many people’s lives, so its literature grows ever more serious and weighty, as though…
Those ancient Greeks were bores — but things are looking up
Thick snow is falling hard and heavy, muffling sounds and turning the picturesque village postcard beautiful. I am lying in…
We need something less evil than Britain's Got Talent. How about public executions?
You know what the world needs most right now? What it needs is five good-looking-ish, talented-ish blokes dressed in a…
Simon Cowell’s latest attempt at global domination
I Can’t Sing! is a parody of The X Factor, which already parodies itself at every turn. Quite a tough…
