X Factor hopefuls trash Simon Cowell's villa
Simon Cowell has threatened to dock his X Factor contestants' future pay following reports that they damaged his luxury rented villa in Spain. The reality show hopefuls at the pop mogul's boot camp are said to have caused damage worth thousands of pounds to the Marbella property, including a £5,000 Persian rug and designer furniture. They have also been accused of drinking Cowell's stock of vintage champagne and imported beer, and keeping him up into the early hours through their noisy antics. Cowell told the Daily Mail: "Yes they did wake me up. Any damage will have to be paid out of their first royalty cheque if they make it - to teach them a lesson." A show insider admitted the eight groups at the boot camp, including The Reason, Sugar Bullet and Husstle, may have "been a bit noisy" when they arrived. The 20-bedroom villa - which boasts three pools and a cinema - is reportedly costing £15,000 a day to hire. Cowell has also hinted that axed contestant Shirlena Johnson could return to the show. He said he would like a "second opinion" about the single mother from east London, who was dropped last week because of concerns over her mental health. Johnson, 30, provided one of the audition highlights when she shrieked and wailed through a version of Duffy's Mercy. She also sang an eccentric version of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance in front of the judges.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.