Louis Walsh 'denies' £1.6m X Factor pay packet claims

Louis Walsh is denying reports in the papers that he's signed a £1.6m deal for the next series of The X Factor.

The music manager and judge says he hasn't even signed a contract, even though he's been assured by Simon Cowell that he'll be taking part.

The 57-year-old also revealed that recording for the new series of The X Factor will start in the summer.

He said: "I haven't got my contract yet for X Factor, to be quite honest.

"I've got the dates. I know that we're starting in June. I don't even know who's back.

"But I know I'm back but I haven't got my contract and it's for a seventh series, so we have to make it bigger and better."

There has also been speculation that Dannii Minogue will return for the live finals later in the year after she's had her baby and that she'll be paid £700,000 this time.

Louis Walsh says he hasn't heard anything about that but hopes she'll be returning.

"I hope Dannii's back because last year that girl worked really, really hard," he said. "She gives 100% to her acts, she shows up every day and she works at it.

"I don't think anybody could replace her. I haven't been her biggest fan in the past but last year we turned a corner and we got on really well.

"I hope she's back. She deserves to be back. She's a very good judge."

X Factor advice

The Westlife manager also revealed that he still carried out his own contract talks and doesn't use an agent.

"Everybody else has an agent," he revealed. "I do my own deal myself. Everybody else has these middlemen who do the deals. I do my own but nobody's even called me yet about it.

"I turn up on my own. I have no stylist. I don't have the entourage that Dannii has, that Simon has or that Cheryl (Cole) has."

The next round of auditions for this year's X Factor take place in Glasgow this weekend.

For the contestants lucky enough to be chosen, Louis Walsh has some advice.

""Don't go in and sing a predictable karaoke song," he said. "Sing something different. Change the song. Make it your own.

"Just don't be predictable and don't have the same cliched sayings. Go in prepared and smile.

"You must sing a great song and the thing is, it's not all about the singing, it's the likability as well."

Cowell stand-in

Outside The X Factor, Walsh was recently asked to step in for Simon Cowell on Britain's Got Talent.

He says it was totally different from the singing contest.

Louis Walsh says the first TV auditions for The X Factor start in June

He said: "I was in Dublin and I got a phone call saying, 'Can I go to Birmingham and step in for Simon because he's sick to do Britain's Got Talent?' I thought it was a prank.

"I didn't believe it because Simon never gets sick. He always wants to be on telly. He doesn't want anyone else to be in his seat.

Walsh also hit back at comments made by judge and former journalist Piers Morgan about his performance as a stand-in for Simon Cowell.

"Anyone with a name called Piers has to be pompous, right?" he asked. "Piers has never had a hit record. He's never been involved with anybody that's ever been in the chart.

"He knows absolutely nothing about music. He's a good journalist. He's not even a music fan.

"But he wants to be on TV. He wants to be famous. That's why he's on TV."