The old romantic: is Simon trying to play cupid on the X Factor?

The real reason he chose Caroline Flack and Olly Murs as the new hosts for the X Factor has been revealed by Simon Cowell himself.

Simon explained that he thinks the pair “have great chemistry” and are ridiculously attracted to each other. According to Simon, this makes for excellent TV viewing.

But wait, doesn’t Olly have a girlfriend?

Yes, and we don’t think Olly’s girlfriend Francesca Thomas since will be too pleased with Simon’s latest comments.

That’s possibly why Simon was very quick to stress that he was just “kidding”, after he made the comment. Nice save, Simon.

The 55-year old music mogul went on to say that he thought Olly was a particularly good person for the gig because he is a former contestant of the show.

“He's perfect to be in that position," according to Simon, who also said that Caroline and Olly were the best choice because of their love for the show and “they have amazing energy.”

Caroline has admitted previously that she did once consider a romance with Olly. She told the Daily Telegraph that at one point she did think “Do I? Could I?' There's always been a barrier where we just couldn't ever cross that line and we never have.”

She also described him as the most confident person she’s ever met, “but it never border on arrogance.”

So, Caroline doesn’t seem to be interested in crossing that line with Olly any time soon, but let us remember that she did find love on the X Factor once upon a time.

Caroline dated then 17-year old One Direction star Harry Styles back in 2011, which she has admitted was a bit “strange”.