X Factor won’t return until 2022 as All Star Musicals replaces show

THE X Factor will definitely not return to screens until 2022 at the earliest, The Sun can reveal — and will be replaced by All Star Musicals instead.

ITV bosses have decided to give the format, which has been a regular annual fixture in the channel’s schedules for 16 years, a break for at least 12 months.

It comes after show boss Simon Cowell broke his back in several places and had to have surgery after falling off an electric bike.

The pandemic would also have made the show’s packed auditions and sold-out arenas impossible.

For 2021, channel chiefs have now lined up a third series of All Star Musicals, in which celebrities try to learn the art of theatre, before performing live.

An insider said: “ITV has decided that next year just isn’t going to be feasible for X Factor.

“It’s been off air since 2019 now and it’ll be 2022 at the earliest, realistically, before it’s back.

“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so hopefully this extended break does exactly that. All Stars Musicals is the main contender to replace it as things stand.”

All Stars Musicals last aired in March, 2019, and was billed by ITV as a “one-off special”.

Seven celebrities, including Alan Titchmarsh and Martin Lewis, embarked on a musical theatre masterclass before performing to a panel of judges.

The format features songs and scenes from hit musicals such as Chicago, Mamma Mia and Hello Dolly.

It is thought John Barrowman, 53, will return as host and Elaine Paige, 72, as a judge.

The Sun previously told how Cowell, 61, was expected to rest X Factor in 2021.

Last year, he tried to revamp the concept with new versions X Factor: Celebrity and X Factor: The Band, but neither mini-series caught on.

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