Simon Cowell  has BANNED his fellow judges from handing out XFactor audience LIVE SHOW tickets to Celeb mates.

He wants more “real people” in the crowd. Normally his fellow judges Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and presenters Dermot O’Leary and Holly Willoughby are allowed around 30 tickets each.

But Simon has told producers it’s too many as it affects the atmosphere. He is fed up of preening celebs turning up just to be seen rather than cheer along the acts.

A no-nonsense email spelling out the new deal was sent out last night.

It said: “Big apologies for the delay in confirming this year’s judge allocations for the live shows.

“On Simon’s wishes, to create the right atmosphere the studio is going to be full of a more ‘general public’ audience and so people’s allocations have had to be adjusted accordingly.”

The X Factor mob will still get some tickets, but only for Sunday nights.

Saturday nights, when A-list singers like Robbie Williams will perform, will be exclusively for the public.

A show insider said: “This hasn’t gone down well as the judges like to dish out tickets to their mates to show off.

“But now they’re going to have to be really choosy as they’re only getting a few.”

Top marks to Simon for at least attempting to keep it real.

LuvCelebs will keep you updated, on Ticket Availability.