[Red Moon]

Snubbed by Simon and Cheryl show

X FACTOR has been dubbed the “Simon and Cheryl Show” after the pair began IGNORING rivals Louis and Dannii.

Insiders said judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole are confident one of their acts will win and are “thick as thieves”.

But Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue have not been included in their on-set banter. A source said: “Simon thinks it’s hilarious none of his or Cheryl’s acts have been in the final two yet.

“He and Cheryl are thick as thieves on set and they often go off and do their own thing, ignoring Dannii and Louis. They’re convinced one of their acts will win.

“Obviously Simon wants it to be one of his acts — he has the biggest ego after all. But if that doesn’t happen he wants it to be one of Cheryl’s.

“Everybody is joking about how it has become the Simon and Cheryl show — even Dannii.”

Simon’s feud with Dannii has worsened after he called Rachel Hylton “Diana” live on the show. It is the second time that Cowell has got one of Dannii’s acts’ names wrong, after forgetting Ruth Lorenzo’s name last week.

An insider said: “Simon is deliberately winding Dannii up because he knows that it annoys her.

“He claims forgetting her acts' names was an accident but she’s not so sure. He also couldn’t resist criticising Ruth when she was in tears during Saturday’s face off with Girlband — even though he wanted her to stay.”

Sniggering

The source added that Simon has been winding Dannii up even more by by “sniggering” with Cheryl.

Dannii was also disappointed last night after it emerged her winning act from last year, Leon Jackson, failed to make the number one spot with his debut single.

When You Believe came in at number three.

Source: The Sun