Simon Cowell's 'X Factor' role cut down

Simon Cowell will not appear on a weekly basis on The X Factor, ITV chief Peter Fincham has confirmed.

Following a string of tabloid reports claiming that Cowell was quitting the UK show, Fincham - ITV's director of television - said that the media mogul's role "will not be as great as previous years".

"We have been in constant negotiations with Simon about ways in which we can move things forward and help The X Factor evolve," Fincham said in a statement.

"We have been aware that his on-screen ­involvement in this series will not be as great as ­previous years for months now. It is something that we are ­completely ­comfortable with.

"We are talking to him about ways he can have an on-screen presence later in the show. He will not be a weekly judge, but he will be an enormous presence backstage as always."

However, Fincham insisted: "Some of the speculation about us pleading with Simon to be a judge makes me smile. I constantly hear we are in crisis but in reality we have an amazingly ­constructive relationship with Simon and are very much reading from the same page."

> Read all our X Factor news