The X Factor, Simon Cowell’s ratings juggernaut that first aired in the U.K. in 2004 and has given rise to some of the biggest pop acts of the 2000s, has been canceled by British network ITV.
The broadcaster has confirmed that there are “no current plans” for another season of the show in the U.K. following rumors in the British media that Cowell himself was axing his most famous reality creation after 17 years.
The X Factor — which helped lead to the formation of boy band One Direction and girl group Little Mix, and made Cowell a household name around the world — last aired in Britain in 2018. The show, in which contestants are mentored by judges that over the years have included Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Nicole Sherzinger as they aim to win the public vote, was produced by Fremantle’s Thames banner and Cowell’s own production company Syco Entertainment.
