‘He would scream down the phone’ Simon says Louis didn’t hold back

Die-hard X Factor fans were left stunned when Louis Walsh was dropped from the judging panel, but it seems no one was as put out by the show's new set-up than the Mayo-native himself.

According to Simon Cowell, the Irish music mogul took serious issue with the show during his absence, and didn't hold back when telling Simon exactly what he thought.

Setting the scene for the public, Simon explained that once the clock would strike 2am, he knew he'd be in for a world of earache.

"But honest to god, it was a weekly call," Simon admitted. "It would start about two in the morning and I'd be like, 'Oh God, it's Louis again'. I'd put it on speaker, lie down and listen."

"What was so funny was that he used to phone me every week," Simon recently revealed. 

"I'd get an hour where he would scream down the phone and I'd be like, 'Well, stop watching. I can't help it, it's not my fault if you don't like it anymore."

And unlike most of us who might delete the Mayo man from our palm pilot, Simon got a kick out of Louis' reaction and can't wait to have him back on the show.

"He was passionate, he missed the old show and I liked seeing that side of Louis," Simon explained.

"Sometimes he can get a little bit passive, but this was the Louis I have always known as a manager, he's got a big mouth, he's outspoken and critical, but that's what I love about him," he added.

We wonder how long it will be before he utters the classic "But Westlife, Simon" remark on this year's show.