Report: 'Pop Idol' to return this Spring

Pop Idol is likely to make a comeback this May with a new format, according to The Sun today.

The series has been absent from UK screens for more than two years following the success of The X Factor, a similar format that now runs each autumn.

The new version, Celebrity Pop Idol, would feature famous faces rather than unknowns as the contestants, meaning the popular auditions phase of the show would be scrapped.

The series would air over ten consecutive days, a format that worked successfully with Soapstar Superstar earlier this month.

Ant and Dec have been tapped to return as hosts but Simon Cowell, who is tied up with American Idol until the end of May, may not be back on the judging panel.

"Simon will be the cherry on the icing but he... doesn't know if he will be able to find the time," a source told the newspaper. "Everyone is crossing fingers we can get him."

An ITV spokesperson confirmed to DS that the series was in development but added that it had not yet been commissioned.