Gary Barlowonly accepted a spot on Take Thatstar had agreed to host a talent show searching for a singer to perform at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. He would have travelled to auditions around the UK for the show, which was to air on the Beeb. But Gary was left disappointed when the show was scrapped after Olympic organisers said they didn’t want an unknown performing at the ceremony, which will be watched by billions of people worldwide.

An insider told the tabloid: “Gary really wanted to do a show on the BBC as he believes in its public service mission. He loved the idea of finding an amazing unknown singer to appear at the opening ceremony in 2012.

“But Olympics chiefs made it known they wanted big name acts to perform instead and the show had to be pulled,” the source explained. “It was only then that Gary turned to The X Factor and became the new Simon Cowell."

Acts rumoured to be performing at the opening and closing ceremonies include Spice Girls, Paul McCartney,Coldplayand Girls Aloud.

So far, Gary has taken to his role as head judge on The X Factor with ease and already has a reputation for being very tough on the contestants.