Up until recently Nick Grimshaw was looking like a dead cert to replace Chris Evans in the newly reborn TFI Friday, but then came the announcement that he is to be a judge on The X Factor.

And Evans has since told reporters that Grimmy is locked in an exclusive deal with ITV, and so can't appear on TFI (which is on Channel 4).

But now the Radio 1 Breakfast Show host has told The Mirror that he was not "pinched" by Simon Cowell, but rather decided against fronting TFI because it is so closely linked to Evans.

"He just mentioned it to me and asked me if I wanted to do it and I would but I think he makes the show and that's why it's good," he said.

"But I love him and I want to go on it every week. It's so silly, it's what made me want to do TV."

Grimmy appeared in the recent one-off reincarnation of TFI, with Evans publicly describing him as "the future" of the show.

However it now looks like Evans will be fronting it himself (to the relief of many fans), along with the BBC's Top Gear.