The Rock DJ singer and former Take That star was recruited, along with his wife Ayda Field, and singer Louis Tomlinson, to serve on the judging panel in an effort to overhaul the ITV singing contest.

Show boss and judge Simon, who had been trying to sign Robbie up to The X Factor for 10 years, told The Sun newspaper that he hopes the father-of-two will breathe new life into the show.

"To be honest with you, yes – it’s the best £10 million ($7.7 million) I’ve ever spent. In life you have to do things like this. I’d rather do this than do nothing. For me it’s exciting and makes it more thrilling," he explained.

“But with all three of them you can see they’re not just there because they’ve got a pay cheque. They’re really happy they’ve got this job and they’re making a difference," Simon added.

Despite the show's rivalry with BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, the music mogul hoped that this year, The X Factor would finally be victorious in the ratings war.

“I’ve got the cheque book out and got the best people we can possibly get to make the best show you can possibly make. You know how long I have wanted to have Robbie on this show, and he really cares about it," the father-of-one revealed.

And Simon has even relinquished his title of head judge on the talent show, instead sharing the honour with Robbie.
“I think we kind of came to that decision before we started that me and Robbie were going to share that role. We have been friends for such a long while now and, knowing Robbie like I do, he is a frontman. I had no problem with that. It’s a sign of confidence in how I felt about him," he added.