Celebrity Big Brother: Sharon Osbourne tells Louis Walsh why she was ‘furious’ with Simon Cowell

Sharon Osbourne has spoken about her career in the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house and has said she was “furious” with Simon Cowell after she turned down an opportunity to appear on ITV reality TV show 'The Masked Singer' before she was dumped from 'The X Factor'.

Former 'X-Factor' judge Osbourne was discussing what happened with fellow 'Celebrity Big Brother' house mate and former 'X-Factor' Louis Walsh. During the conversation, which viewers saw during Friday night's episode (March 8) the pair also shared their thoughts about 'X Factor' creator Cowell.

Osbourne, who starred in the first four series of the UK talent show and sporadically thereafter, said she would never again appear on a Cowell show “not for all the money in the world”. Long-serving judge Walsh, who spent more than a decade as a judge on 'The X Factor' before it ended in 2018, said “I haven’t talked to him at all, nothing, zero,” referring to Cowell.

Osbourne said: “But that’s Simon. He cuts you off. He doesn’t know how to keep friends.” Walsh said singer Sinitta Malone, known mononymously as Sinitta, who had a romantic relationship with Cowell in the 80s but has been his long-term friend ever since is “very loyal” to him, while Osbourne said she “dedicated her life to him”.

When asked whether she was on 'The Masked Singer', Osbourne said: “Why do you think I’m so f****** mad with Simon, because that year that you and I were contracted to do 'X Factor', it was the first year of 'The Masked Singer' and they asked me to do it in America and I said I can’t, because I had Simon.

“So then they casted it and then when Simon, well he didn’t call, but when they called and said no you’re not doing it, I missed a huge gig. That’s why I was furious.

"Because do you remember that year, everything in the press, ‘they’re old’, young blood, and I went mad when they told me. I went mad. And then he called me. He was trying to sweet talk me. He would always (want) change, change, change, well you’re the one that needs changing mate."

Making reference to Cowell's signature look of jeans or black trousers and a white shirt or a black t-shirt, she added: "Look, somebody that dresses the same for probably three decades you would say, they don’t see that it’s not right, nobody’s going to tell him, but everything is the same, the same, the same.”

Osbourne then mimicked a few of Cowell’s infamous lines from 'The X Factor', including asking contestants if they have a second song.

'Celebrity Big Brother' continues on ITV 1 and ITV X on Sunday (March 10) at 9pm. You can catch up on all previous episodes now on ITV X. To read all the latest on the show, including the 2024 winner betting odds plus the viewing figures for the debut episode, check out our dedicated 'Celebrity Big Brother' page.

The show will last for three weeks, airing Monday to Friday and also Sunday each week at the same time. A finale date hasn't been confirmed just yet. 'Big Brother' ended on a Friday last year, however, so we could expect the winner to be announced on Friday, March 22.