Cowell 'issues X Factor celeb ban'

Simon Cowell has decided to cut back on the number of celebrity guests in The X Factor's live show audiences this year, according to a report.

The programme's judges and presenters were previously given 30 tickets each for famous faces they are friends with, The Sun claims.

It is thought that Cowell has now opted to free up space in the crowd in order to create more seats for ordinary fans of the ITV1 series. Celebrities are expected to be banned altogether in the Saturday night performance episodes, while a small number will be allowed into the studio to see the Sunday results update.

An email to the show's team reportedly 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."

A source explained: "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."

The first X Factor live show airs on October 10.