'American Idol' to retain four-judge format

Fox has confirmed that American Idol will continue to have four judges despite the departure of Paula Abdul, says E! Online.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, studio chairman Peter Rice explained that celebrity guest judges will fill Abdul's seat in the short-term, before a permanent replacement can be found.

"We are going to have these guest judges do one week each. We've done that before. We've done that many many seasons of Idol where not all the judges were available to do the auditions and guest judges came in," he said.

"All of the people we are talking to have successful careers. I don't think they'd really be available to judge full-time. It's not our expectation right now and it's not our plans. We have now until January to introduce a different energy into the panel, and I think we have to cast that the right way."

He added: "There is going to be a search, and we have to cast that in a way that is fun and energising and that creates some real chemistry between the people on the panel."

Among the celebrity guest judges already lined up are former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and singer Katy Perry.