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Updated: Sir Chris Hoy scotches rumours of X Factor spot - and Bradley Wiggins isn't a fan either

GB Olympic stars reported to have been lined up to mentor hopefuls in special edition of ITV talent show

Sir Chris Hoy has said that press stories about him being a mentor in a forthcoming edition of TV talent show The X Factor are "the first I've heard about it." Hoy was said to be one of four Olympic champions lined up to appear as ,theshow seeks to fight plunging audience ratings – and another star said to be involved, Bradley Wiggins, seems to have poured cold water on rumours that he will  be taking part.

The Daily Record reported that Hoy, together with Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Wiggins, had been recruited to mentor would-be pop stars in a special edition of the show to be screened next month.

But Hoy took to Twitter this morning to say: "Some amusing stories in press about me being a mentor on X-Factor; that's the first I've heard about it! #dontbelievethehype!"

The season launch on Saturday saw ratings plummet compared to previous years, and the recruitment of the stars of London 2012 could be viewed as an attempt by producers to harness an 'Olympic factor' to try and stop the rot.

The newspaper says that Hoy is exploring options for a career outside cycling once he retires, most likely after the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The six-time Olympic champion has already confirmed that he will not compete in November’s UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics event at the new velodrome in Glasgow that bears his name.

The cyclist’s spokesman, Rob Woodhouse, commented: “He’s just had the Olympics and is taking an extended break. He’s putting his feet up and weighing up his future.”

Publicist Max Clifford, who after the Beijing Games helped Hoy line up sponsorship deals with Highland Spring and BT that are thought to be valued in the region of £2 million, said “He is to cycling what Simon Cowell is to TV music talent.”

According to the Daily Record, it cost a total of £1 million to secure the services of the Olympic stars for the show, with a source connected to the programme saying: “Producers were jumping up and down with delight when all four Team GB stars agreed to do the show” - although given that Hoy at least had never heard of the idea, that claim should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt.

Meanwhile Wiggins, quoted on Mail Online yesterday, said: “Let's not talk about the X Factor. Compared to the Olympics - everywhere you went the country was on a high and as athletes it was phenomenal to see that.

“Then you see X Factor and it's like, ‘Oh God, everyone's got to put up with that all winter now’.”

If ratings for Saturday’s launch show are anything to go by, fewer people will be putting up with it in the months ahead than in previous years, however.

The audience of 8.1 million was more than a quarter down on last year’s season opener, and the lowest since the show was launched in 2006, reports BBC News.

Lord Coe recently said that the show represented the antithesis of the years of dedication that result in an athlete being able to compete in the Olympics.

“It identifies talent, but it encourages people to think you can be a celebrity in six hours,” he claimed.
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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Bob's Bikes | 11 years ago
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Sir Chris Hoy "scotches" rumours.  24

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Karbon Kev | 11 years ago
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Of course they're not interested, that's cos they have more taste than the dross who follow this rubbish!

Exploitation of people, as this rubbish tv show has in spades, is running out of ideas, and hopefully has it's days numbered ...

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Campag_10 | 11 years ago
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Shameless hype by the TV production company. Any old tripe to get the franchise on the front pages of the tabloids.

Wiggins and Hoy are surely too sensible to tarnish their reputations with any involvement in such dross.

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WolfieSmith | 11 years ago
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There's a little bit of an attempt to start a backlash against Wiggins amongst the non cycling press at present. I read in the Mail Online last week and it suggested that Wiggins had grown a rockstar head and was too busy living it up to shoulder his team responsibilities and take part in the Vuelta; when of course it was never on his calendar anyway.
Just mischief making masquerading as news - hoping to get a defensive response from Wiggins himself and present that as real news.

I imagine Wiggins will want to keep his head down hoping they'll forget about him until July 2013...

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aslongasicycle | 11 years ago
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It's one of those BS public relations stories that gets nudge nudge wink winked into the tabloid press over lunches, where it appears unattributed, sells the product and sells the paper and no one get done for making crap up. The suggestion that Wiggins would be involved shows how little they know of him. Its all a bit pathetic. News as lies. Same old. Bah.  7

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charlie bravo | 11 years ago
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Chris Hoy has tweeted the following this morning

"@chrishoy: Some amusing stories in press about me being a mentor on X-Factor; that's the first I've heard about it! #dontbelievethehype!"

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londonplayer | 11 years ago
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X Factor is just karaoke on TV that has been done with a lot of hype. Clever TV format but utter shite to watch. Very pleased to hear that Brad isn't going to touch it with two barge poles.

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JohnS | 11 years ago
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My admiration for B Wiggins grows daily.

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alronald replied to JohnS | 11 years ago
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JohnS wrote:

My admiration for B Wiggins grows daily.

Many, myself included will agree entirely with that sentiment.

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