[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Alf

He may be boring but he can write music and play music. All Simon knows about music is how to exploit people to make money off of them.

That's as maybe, but when it comes to sitting down and talking (i.e. the format of most of those shows) Simon is miles more entertaining.

Boring choice of replacement aside, it's hard to blame him - he's nearly old enough to retire anyway, and he's probably been rich enough to do so for god knows how long! Why would he spend his time nurturing "talent" for a dying TV show format when he can spend time with his family?