What I would argue in my defence is that shows like Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor have actually got people more interested in music again and are sending more people into record stores.

I've always treated the music business as a business.

At 20, you're cocky and you think you can rule the world, and you get it all wrong.

I can't stand stage mothers. It doesn't work. You definitely feel that with the new generation of pop stars right now they've all managed to work it out for themselves. You have to have confidence in that. When you're young, you know your market better than I will. I love having young people on the show because I can learn from them.

I think if you're an unhappy person, you're always going to be an unhappy person. You're probably going to be less unhappy if your business is doing well, if I'm being honest.

Holding auditions in front of an audience is testing.

It simply works. You do it twice a year. Who cares? And it balances my smoking and drinking.