Simon Cowell will have his hands full with American X Factor and he has opted out of judging the UK X Factor according to UK MTV.

Simon Cowell will not appear as a weekly judge on The X Factor when it returns to ITV later this year.

ITV Director of Television Peter Fincham confirmed that Cowell would have a reduced role so he could concentrate on The X Factor USA. “We have been in constant negotiations with Simon about ways in which we can move things forward and help The X Factor evolve. We have been aware that his on-screen involvement in this series will not be as great as previous years for months now,” he admitted, adding: “It is something that we are completely comfortable with.”

But it looks like Simon will be back for some of the live shows. “We are talking to him about ways he can have an on-screen presence later in the show. He will not be a weekly judge, but he will be an enormous presence backstage as always.”