Simon Cowell admits he was “too cocky” in 2011.
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The 52-year-old music mogul – who saw ratings fall for his shows The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, as well as Red or Black failing to take off as he had hoped – explained his “ego was put in check” last year and he feels as though he is “back at the beginning”.
He said: “We all got a bit smug last year, I certainly got a bit too cocky. I ended 2010 on a real high, it was the Matt Cardle year, my favourite year, and the figures for X Factor were huge.
“I did get too arrogant, everyone does. When you have a very good year like I did in 2010 you get a bit cocky. You think you are great, then you get a bit of a smack. We went into 2011 thinking, ‘It’s all going to be easy’ and of course it wasn’t.
“Last year was the year my ego was put in check, yes. It wasn’t a terrible year, but 2010 was spectacular. It feels like I’m back at the beginning again. I am optimistic – but not so arrogant, I’d say.”
However, the TV boss doesn’t think he was the only one who let success go to his head, as Simon claimed Strictly Come Dancing chiefs were being “smug” about beating rival show The X Factor in the rating battle until he poached judge Alesha Dixon for the panel of Britain’s Got Talent.
He added in an interview with the Daily Mirror: “When I was in America I’d read about the ratings battles going on here and I did think Strictly were getting a bit smug. They did great. They want to be number one, I want to be number one.
“But the Alesha thing was kind of fun. My decision to poach her was 70-30 on the fact she was on Strictly and the fact I liked her. I knew the BBC was putting on The Voice. They’ve done this to have a pop at The X Factor and to have a go at the BGT ratings.
“The Voice must have cost them at least £30million, but I’ve got Alesha now. I like the fact this is now a competition with the BBC and it makes us work harder. The show will be better as a result.”
