Louis Walsh and Cheryl's friendship-ending row over explosive 'weight comments'

07 March 2024 , 19:35

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Louis and Cheryl had a big public spat in 2012

Celebrity Big Brother star Louis Walsh is no stranger to drama in the showbiz world.

The X Factor icon, 71, has been stirring the pot in the ITV house already and fans are relishing in his savage jibes about fellow contestants and celebrities, like ex-boss Simon Cowell. But it's not the first time Louis has been caught up in controversy and he once sparked a furious row with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.

The Irish star was left stunned in 2012 after Cheryl gave an explosive interview in which she denied that Louis played any part in her band's massive success. The group won ITV's Popstars in 2002, when Louis was a judge, but Cheryl denied that her former colleague supported them and said he "just took a cheque".

Cheryl said Louis didn't manage Girls Aloud but just 'took a cheque' (Copetti/Photofab/REX/Shutterstock)

She told Marie Claire magazine in 2012: "We worked like crazy in those days. We didn't stop for breath. We never had management. Louis claimed to be our manager but he never did it. We didn't talk to him or anything like that. He just took a cheque. Literally, we didn't have management."

Cheryl also suggested the former Westlife manager sent her and her original bandmates - Sarah Harding, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts - off to boot camp to tone up. In the interview, she said: "Louis had come out publicly and said, 'They're all fat. They all need to lose weight'.

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"And the record label sent us all to have training. Now I talk to him because I get that business is business and that's how he runs his - but he never chose a hit. Who chose them? Us. It could be the key to our longevity because it was genuine. Everything was raw and real. The only thing that was different was that we were put together through that process."

Cheryl's spat with Louis came after he publicly backed her to make an X Factor return. Speaking ahead of the ninth series, Louis said: "I'll tell you who the panel will be. It will be Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh, Tulisa and perhaps Cheryl Cole. She could be back. I'm not saying she definitely will but I'd love to see her."

But after the interview, he lashed out and told the Mirror: "As far as I'm concerned, our friendship is over. I've no idea why she's made these comments but, in my eyes, it says a lot about her. I was always the first to defend her on the X Factor, and always watched her back. I thought we were friends. I won't stand for anyone criticising me professionally and if I was in London right now I'd give her a piece of my mind."

• Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Nia Dalton