ITV chief executive Adam Crozier has insisted that Simon Cowell will not be moving The X Factor to Five, no matter how hard Richard Desmond tries to win his favour.

When he bought over the ailing TV channel last month, Desmond admitted that he would like to poach both The X Factor and Coronation Street.

However, Crozier says there is no possibility of this happening. He told The Mirror:

“Richard, thanks for trying…There’s a very short answer to that and it’s a very large no.

“We’ve got a longstanding relationship with Simon Cowell. One of the terrific things about him is his relentless pursuit of perfection and improvement and I think we share that. Jointly we are focused on that and nothing else.”