Simon Cowell has reportedly re-written The X Factor's rulebook in an attempt to get more talent into the forthcoming series.
The Sun claims that the reality TV mogul is changing the age limits for hopefuls on the show so that the "boys" and "girls" categories contain singers aged up to 28, rather than 25 as in previous years.
A source told the paper: "Last year’s crop of wannabes was awful, largely because there were too many youngsters. Lots of girls and boys in their late twenties auditioned but there was no room for them because the Over-25s category had to have the quirky older ones in it to make it work.
"The show basically snookered itself, so Simon has decided to make the change. And this year there are again loads of amazing performers who are older than 25 but younger than 28.
"There is no way show bosses will make the same mistake again, so the age limits have changed. This year's show is now shaping up to be one of the best ever."
The Boot Camp episodes are being filmed this week and the contestants will get a visit from judges Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger and Tulisa Contostavlos.
If the change goes ahead, it will be the second time the age limit has been raised.

Simon reportedly [uuid=953c4116-7eff-41e4-9748-14997bbf0975]delayed the filming of The X Factor USA[/uuid] recently in order to eat his breakfast.

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