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Ex Factor presenter laments sackings

10/03/2007

Discarded X Factor presenter Louis Walsh has spoken out against changes to the ITV talent show.

Walsh told the Sun newspaper that he thought it was a mistake for ITV bosses to dispense with the services of both himself as a judge and Kate Thornton as the show's presenter.

After three seasons on the show – including one in which his protégé Shayne Ward won the X Factor prize – Walsh admitted he was "really shocked" by the changes.

Although he personally felt "like I had been stabbed in the back", Walsh was able to take a more objective view on the dismissal of Thornton.

"It was a bad move sacking Kate. She was like a mother figure for all the acts. She will be a big loss," he said.

"It was made worse because Simon [Cowell] and ITV kept telling Kate she was safe, that she'd be staying. But it would seem Simon's word is not his bond."

Cowell, the television talent show supremo in both the UK and the US, has insisted that he argued to keep Walsh and Thornton on the show – without success.

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