Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has had a bit of a bitchy dig at X Factor and BGT supremo Simon Cowell by remarking that he intends to be “involved” with the wannabes on his new talent quest show, Superstar, which he says Simon doesn’t do.

Superstar of course debuts next Saturday, and while speaking to the Daily Star Sunday ahead of the show’s launch – and on being asked if it compares to X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, Webber remarked, “Me and Simon are very different – like apples and oranges.

“But I do like to get the best out of performers. I like to give them my best shot – then it’s down to them.

“I guess that’s where me and Simon differ slightly. I get involved to see if they’re OK.”

However, like Simon’s shows, Superstar is set to air on ITV since Webber decided to quit the BBC, which is where his former talent search shows have been hosted…

Of his move to ITV, he said, “It’s like going back to work with old friends at ITV because the team there are the ones who first took my ideas on at the BBC years ago.

“They’ve wanted to work with me every since, so when my BBC contract ran out I decided to move.”

Superstar is of course focusing on the search for a leading man to star in a brand-new production of Jesus Christ Superstar.