Sharon and Louis are my friends...but Amanda is my friend too

COWELL PLEDGES TO REACH OUT ON CELEB BIG BROTHER DRAMA

- LAURA ARMSTRONG

SIMON Cowell has vowed to heal his rift with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh after they ripped into him on live TV.

Their remarks about him on Celebrity Big Brother sparked a vicious war of words between Sharon and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

Sharon said she was "fuming" after Simon failed to renew her contract after promising he would. Louis claimed he had "cut him out".

The former X Factor judges went on to make fun of his dress sense.

Amanda, 53, called them "bitter and pathetic" for attacking their former boss. She said Simon had "given them a lifestyle they probably wouldn't have had" and added: "It was like Cinderella with her two stepsisters in the background just stabby, stabby, stabby." 

Sharon lashed back at Amanda, insisting her claims were "factually incorrect" and saying she did not need Simon to give her a lavish lifestyle.

Since the spat, Simon, 64, has been asked constantly for his reaction. But the BGT boss, who ditched his mobile phone eight years ago and has not watched any Big Brother footage, has stayed silent about the drama.

Today he is speaking out for the first time. He insists he still considers Sharon and Louis "good friends" and blames himself for losing touch with them. He also revealed he plans to reach out to both this week in a bid to calm the storm.

GENUINE 

In an exclusive interview, Simon said: "If you put Sharon and Louis in the house, that's what you pay them for, they're going to be controversial.