Tuesday, 1 December 2009

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Simon Cowell taking The X Factor to Las Vegas

Music mogul will work with Sir Philip Green

Simon Cowell wants Cheryl Cole and Dermot O'Leary to join him on the new show

Simon Cowell has announced plans to launch The X Factor across the pond.

The music mogul is teaming with Topshop boss Sir Philip Green to start up a £100million media company that will oversee the move.

The US version of the hit ITV show is expected to air on the Fox network from autumn 2010 and will be recorded in Las Vegas.

'We'll have a permanent place,' says Sir Philip. ‘The home of The X Factor - live from Las Vegas.

'To sing in Vegas? I mean, hell, you get to the final 12 and your dream's come true - you're going to sing in Vegas!'

Simon, 50, is currently tied down to a contract as a judge on American Idol, which already airs on Fox.

But he is expected to renegotiate his deal early next year and the show will continue in its spring slot to avoid a clash with the new X Factor.

'It would not have been my first choice to bring The X Factor to America,' Idol creator Simon Fuller tells GQ.

'But I understand Simon's desire to appear in a second TV show, as he does in the UK with X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. The financial reward for him is considerable and irresistible.

'Both shows appear on Fox and it is clearly in their interest more than anyone to manage things appropriately... I think the world is big enough to accommodate us both.'

The X Factor already airs in 20 countries worldwide.

SEE PICTURES The X Factor 2009 - the final 12>>

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