There have been rumours that the Syco boss could return to the British show as a guest judge during some of the Live Shows or as a 'Voice of God' via Skype, but nothing has been confirmed and Cowell is expected to be primarily building the US version of the show.
© WENN
© ITV / Nicky Johnston
Talking to The Guardian about Cowell's involvedment in the UK show, Thames managing director Holloway said: "Simon will appear in some guise somewhere."
When asked for more details, he teased: "That would be giving it away, wouldn't it... That's all I'm prepared to say... It's not a hologram."
Holloway also insisted that he wasn't concerned about the declining ratings of the ITV programme, arguing that talent shows would continue to be made and that they just needed to be evolved to maintain big audiences.
"I've got some thoughts in terms of that in the future, especially with all the technology we have and YouTube and Google and Skype. There are ways we should be exploring making these shows even more personal," he said. "Bringing the people at home into the show, there's a rich vein there."
The X Factor series nine continues on Saturday nights on ITV1.
