Sky Making ‘X Factor’ Documentary With Simon Cowell Contributing

Simon Cowell will contribute to a landmark Sky documentary about his ITV entertainment giant The X Factor.

Sky is making a “definitive documentary series exploring the era-defining entertainment juggernaut,” it said today, with Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story producer 72 Films aboard to produce.

Cowell will make a rare on-screen contribution to the untitled doc, along with those “closest to The X Factor story,” both on and off screen, Sky said.

The X Factor was one of the biggest UK entertainment hits of the millennium but ratings declined and it was officially canceled in 2021.

In recent years it has generated negative headlines. Previous contestants like Rebecca Ferguson and Lucy Spraggan have criticized the show, with Spraggan saying she was raped while staying at a hotel while it was being filmed. When she said this, both ITV and Fremantle, which co-produced The X Factor via its Thames label, said they were evolving their duty of care processes.

Interestingly, 72 Films is also owned by Fremantle, meaning that it will be making a doc about a show within its stable.

Cowell’s latest series, Simon Cowell: The Next Act, launched on Netflix late last year.

Series director on The X Factor doc is Tim Lawton (7/7: Homegrown Terror). The executive producers for 72 Films are Mark Raphael and Clare Cameron, with Kate O’Hara serving as showrunner. EPs for Sky are Hayley Reynolds and Bruce Fletcher.