Steve Jones has denied reports that Simon Cowell has banned him from dating anyone while he works on The X Factor, saying that he would ignore the rule even if it was imposed on him.

The hunky Welsh TV presenter – who has previously dated beauties such as Pamela Anderson and Halle Berry – was reportedly told he couldn’t pursue a romance while working on the new Fox series, especially if it involved one of his co-stars – Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and at the time, Cheryl Cole.

However, in an interview with The Sun Steve laughed off the reports saying:

“That is one command I would take no notice of. But unfortunately I’m too busy for any shenanigans.”

However, the time spent touring from city to city, listening to a mix of talented and awful singers who are desperate to appear on the new TV talent show, has seen Jones getting close to his fellow X Factor stars.

Speaking about the panellists, he added:

“Paula is just wild. She takes forever to get ready and is always late – but that’s Paula.

“Me and Scherzinger have hit it off big time. We became very close very quickly. We hit the karaoke like my life depended on it in Miami and did a rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Simon is difficult to get out. He’s like a bloody hermit. He stays in his penthouse in whichever city we are filming just hatching plans.

“The other weird thing I’ve noticed is he’s like a squirrel – he just eats nuts all the time. During the filming of the show, every time I look at the monitor he’s got a mouthful of nuts and is munching.”