Olly Murs claims Simon Cowell tried to lure him back to ‘The X Factor’, but says he has more "chemistry" with the judges on ‘The Voice’.
The 34-year-old singer came second on the ITV singing competition in 2009 and returned to host the show’s spin-off ‘The Xtra Factor’ with Caroline Flack in 2011 and 2012, before the duo took on hosting duties of the main show for one year in 2015.
But since last year, Olly has been a coach on rival ITV talent show ‘The Voice’, and has now said that although former boss Simon Cowell wanted him to stay at ‘The X Factor’, he’s having a better time with fellow coaches Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson, and will.i.am.
When asked during an appearance on ‘Good Morning Britain’ if Simon had attempted to lure him back, the ‘Troublemaker’ singer said: "He did. Listen, I love Simon and I love ‘X Factor’, I’ve got nothing but love for the show.
"It wasn’t about money it was more about The Voice judges and the chemistry we had as a team. If one of them wasn’t coming back it might have been a different decision, but I just love the show and the people on it.
"They gave me an amazing opportunity to be a coach and help other people. I’m having a great time on it, it’s great fun."
Olly was reportedly offered £3 million to return to ‘The X Factor’ as a judge for last year’s series, but he turned it down and the position eventually went to former Take That member Robbie Williams.