Robbie has said he’s a huge fan of the show and will also be appearing live at the weekend to perform his new single Bodies. The 35-year-old already has his eye on one contestant – thought to be Olly Murs – and said: ‘There’s this one guy on The X Factor who is amazing. I think he could take my place. I’ve got my eye on him – he’s dead.’ He was joined by his girlfriend Ayda Field, and they both popped into Waterstone’s after the Soho Hotel where he bought a pub quiz book.

t has also been mooted that Madonna could appear on the show. Last year, X Factor mentors included Williams’s former Take That colleagues Gary Barlow and Mark Owen, and Beyonce. Williams announced last month that his first album in three years – Reality Killed The Video Star – will be released in November. He had been keeping a low profile after his previous album Rudebox failed to sell as well as earlier work. There has been speculation about Williams’s recording future because this is his last album under his current EMI contract. He recently caught up with Take That for a recording session in New York, prompting hopes of a full reconciliation for the band. Williams signed a five-album deal in 2002 for an estimated £80million, boasting that it had made him ‘rich beyond my wildest dreams’. The latest series of The X Factor is the most expensive yet, costing £1.5million a week. ITV is spending more in an attempt to turn the programme into a weekend-long event. Last year the show was estimated to have cost between £800,000 and £1million an episode. Production of this year’s live Sunday results show is thought to be costing an extra £400,000 a week. An ITV insider said: ‘The show has got bigger. It is one of our best rating shows and we want to keep viewers excited by it.’

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“It really is very competitive this year, and the betting is the most open it has been in any of the previous years, and although Danyl is holding firm at the head of the market, the majority of cash has gone elsewhere, most interestingly on a couple of outsiders this week, Daniel Pearce, 20-1 (from 33-1), and Nicole Lawrence, 40-1 (from 80-1). We are looking forward to an exciting next few weeks,” said Coral spokesman Gary Burton.

Welsh songstress Lucie Jones is next in the betting at 9-2, ahead of Essex stars, Olly Murs, and Stacy Solomans at 5-1.

Simon Cowell, with the Over 25’s, is the hot favourite to take the Managers crown at 6-5.

X Factor

• 7-2 Danyl Johnson
• 9-2 Lucie Jones
• 5-1 Olly Murs, Stacey Soloman
• 8-1 Jamie Archer
• 9-1 Joseph McElderry
• 12-1 Lloyd Daniels
• 16-1 Rachel Adedeji
• 20-1 (from 33-1) Daniel Pearce
• 25-1 Rikki Loney, Ethan Boroian
• 33-1 Kandy Rain,
• 40-1 (from 80-1) Nicole Lawrence, Harmony Hood, Miss Frank
• 50-1 John and Edward
• 66-1 Daniel Fox
• 80-1 Treyc Cohen
• 100-1 De-Tour, Despina Pilavakis, Duane Lamonte, Nicole Jackson, Project A, Stacey McClean

Winning Manager

• 6-5 Simon Cowell (Over 25’s)
• 7-4 Dannii Minogue (Girls 16-25)
• 7-2 Cheryl Cole (Boys 16-24)
• 10-1 Louis Walsh (Groups)

Susan found fame after entering Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year, and amazed millions with her stunning voice and contrasting appearance.

Now the Scottish star will appear on The XFactor – her first live British TV performance since being discovered.

It makes perfect sense and will create a big buzz,’ says a backstage source on the show.

‘There are two shows to fill on Saturday and Sunday nights, so they’re also planning guest appearances from previous winners and runners-up, as well as celebrity guests,’ the source told The Mirror.

Susan sang at the finale of America’s Got Talent last month and is set to appear on X Factor in November.

Her new album I Dreamed A Dream is also due out next month.

Other stars rumoured to perform on the first live X Factor shows are last year’s winner Alexandra Burke, Robbie Williams and soul diva Whitney Houston!

X Factor judge Cheryl Cole – who has her first solo single out – is also lined up to sing on the show.

Will announced the news on his Facebook page earlier today.

“We can now officially confirm that Will Young will indeed be appearing on X Factor this weekend,” read the message.

“Will was invited by judge Cheryl Cole to help her choose the final contestants to go through to the live shows. The show was filmed in Marrakesh, Morocco and features Will judging the Boys category with Cheryl.”

Talks are under way for the shows to be made in America with Cole as one of the judges.

The respected Hollywood Reporter magazine said Simon Cowell has opened talks with the Fox Network to transfer The X Factor from the UK to the U.S..

No deal has been finalised and contracts are still being discussed.

It claims Cowell could earn an extra £30million a year from the deal and speculates that Cole and Louis Walsh will form part of the judging panel.

Paula Abdul, who was dropped from the 2010 series of American Idol, is also tipped to be one of the judges.

Cowell, the highest paid British star on U.S. TV, is said to be in negotiations with Fox over his contract for American Idol.

As a judge and executive producer the most popular show on American TV he earns more than £30million a year from its five month run each year.

His contract for Idol is due to end next year, but according to the Hollywood Reporter talks are under way to keep him tied to the series until the 2011-12 season.

The Hollywood reporter said: ‘Cowell, in the final year of his contract on Idol, had been open about his desire to bring his mega-hit British format to the U.S., something he couldn’t do under his existing Idol pact.

‘Now Fox and Cowell are said to be hammering out a deal to launch an American version of X Factor – while locking in Cowell as an Idol judge for two more years, through the 2011-12 season.’

Amie,22 – whose apparent bashfulness won the hearts of ITV1′s viewers – hid her seedy profession from the show’s bosses by claiming she works as a personal trainer.

Amie sobbed as she revealed she had considered performing a song by Cheryl’s group Girls Aloud.

That moved the judges to give her a second chance to overcome her nerves.

She was roared on by the studio audience as fellow Geordie Cheryl joined her on stage to duet on I’ll Stand By You.

The performance got the budding songstress through to the show’s next round – the “boot camp”.

Cheryl hugged her and said: “Well done, babe.”

Amie, who DID once work at a gym, kept her appearance on the show a secret from friends.

A report in today’s Sun newspaper claims that the brunette used some of the money she earned from the city’s Blue Velvet club to pay for a breast enlargement.

The source said: ‘It took her from a B cup to a DD.

‘Some girls can make up to £1,000 a week. Amie tends to just work weekends. But she is one of the more popular girls.

‘She is really good at it and is a big hit with the blokes because she is so pretty – and has a great figure.’

Amie is said to have cavorted topless for punters during her sultry routines – a far cry from her shy appearance on X Factor.

She is planning to quit her Newcastle apartment in Gateshead Quays and move to London in a bid to crack the big time.

According to The Mirror the 57-year-old flew out to the States to have “a bit of work” done last week following encouragement from Simon Cowell.

It is believed that Walsh paid for his wrinkles to be Botoxed and also had surgery on the bags under his eyes.

A source said: “Simon has been badgering him for years and Louis finally succumbed. He’s been in dark glasses to hide the bruising.”

Cowell has previously suggested that Botox is “no more unusual than toothpaste”.

Meanwhile, the pair’s fellow XFactor panellist Dannii Minogue recently promised to stop using the treatment.

Walsh splashed out on dental procedures earlier this year, describing the decision as an “investment”.

The 30-year-old singer and former winner of strictly received a barrage of criticism on internet message boards this weekend at her very first attempt at judging.

Some branded her “banal” and said her “limited knowledge” fell short off the expertise choregrapher Arlene Phillips, 66, brought to the show before she was replaced by Dixon as BBC bosses sought to attract younger viewers.

But Dixon insisted today that she would not resign and defended her place as a judge, insisting that she brought a new “perspective” to the judges’ panel.

She said: “You can’t please people all the time. We are just started on a long road. Obviously Arlene was a big part of the show for a long time. But my job is not to replace Arlene, my job is to provide a perspective that was missing before and that is the understanding of the performance aspects and of just how tough it is to perform to the standards viewers expect.”

She added: “Having been through the Strictly experience I can relate to what they are going through.”

The BBC was accused of ageism after Dixon replaced Phillips. But producers hoped that the row would fade away following Dixon’s first show on Friday.

Fans, however, have left hundreds of comments on BBC message boards calling for Phillips’s reinstatement.

One posted: “I think Alesha is lovely and has a super bubbly personality, but she’s totally out of her depth here — nothing substantial to say, just vague comments about smiling or non-smiling faces and how much the dancers seem to be enjoying themselves (or not). Bring back Arlene!”

Another wrote: “The BBC have taken her on as a judge and they got rid of one of the most experienced and professional dance choreographers to do so. Many viewers, myself included, feel cheated and even somewhat insulted.”

The corporation has given Dixon its full support. A spokesman said: “The BBC are right behind her.”

The BBC has also been criticised for scheduling Strictly Come Dancing directly against ITV’s The XFactor — but executives have no plans to change its time slot.

ITV’s show peaked with 10.7 million viewers on Saturday night, while Strictly Come Dancing’s high was 8.7 million.

Updated  September 24th AM>>

BBC chiefs gag dancers and judges.

It has been obvious to viewers since Friday night, and yesterday the BBC finally admitted it – Alesha Dixon is not doing a brilliant job replacing Arlene Phillips as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

A BBC spokesman, sounding pained, told me that this was ‘like her first job’ and that there was ‘obviously room to grow’.

Even that much candour on the Strictly issue has been rare – and yesterday we discovered why.

To the embarrassment of the BBC a ‘briefing note for dancers, judges and celebs’ was leaked, revealing all were ordered to toe the party line on the subject.

If asked about Alesha, they were simply to say she ‘is a great performer and was a fantastic champion’.

Unfortunately for the BBC, it couldn’t gag the viewers too.

What started as a silly-season story back in July when Miss Phillips was dropped is now looking like a full-scale PR disaster.

The complaints are not yet running at levels of last year’s Sachsgate, but operators have fielded nearly 1,000 calls on a single topic: the shortcomings of Alesha Dixon, and why oh why can’t the BBC bring back Arlene Phillips

Thousands more complaints have been made on BBC internet message boards – around 4,000 in total.

By yesterday afternoon 1,400 viewers had signed up to a petition to bring back Arlene. Hundreds of other viewers said that they were furious and disgusted, and promised that they would not watch again.

Some of the aggrieved fans, fed up with getting the stock replies issued by the complaints department, are now waging a guerilla campaign and attempting to directly contact Martin Scott, the BBC’s head of format entertainment, who was until now a blameless and anonymous figure.

And as the grassroots rebellion grows, a media storm is swirling. There has been a suitably po-faced leader on the subject in the Guardian (claiming, heaven help us, that 30-year-old Alesha Dixon has ‘star quality’ and ‘deserves a break’).

Sources say things just weren’t working out between the young   dancer and the XFactor mogul.

After 14m viewers saw George’s victory on the ITV talent contest, the teenager’s career never took off as Simon would have liked, and he is now no longer working with Cowell’s Syco label.

A source said: ‘George just didn’t prove as marketable as Simon had hoped. When acts like George win the show, it’s much harder for them to forge a successful career compared with a singer, like Susan Boyle.’

And George, 16, who dazzled BGT audiences with his Singin’ In The Rain routine, did the relationship no good when he bad-mouthed Cowell last month, claiming the impresario wasn’t giving him any support.

He claimed he somehow ended up making a loss on his DVD, Access 2 All Areas, despite it being a successful seller.

The Daily Star Sunday claims that Murs went on the show in 2007 to win money to help with doctors’ fees for his ill mother.

However, after rejecting an early offer of £20,000, the singer ended up with just £10. Noel Edmonds reportedly called it “the most appalling run of luck in the history of the game”.

“My mates were all singing, ‘Ten pounds, you only won ten pounds’ to me and I got plenty of stick,” Murs said. “I just say to them that I went on TV and they didn’t.

“I’d love to say I won more but I can’t lie, can I?”

However, Murs added that being on television had made him realise that he would like to work in the entertainment industry.

“I’d love a career in showbiz,” he said. “I’d love for something to develop now I’ve experienced being in the spotlight.”

Murs got through to the bootcamp stages of The X Factor after impressing the judges with his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’.