Is it me or has Simon Cowell so far been less cutting than normal in this new series of The X Factor? He still tells people they are crap and have no future in singing, but where are all the personal insults?

Let’s take a look back at a classic moment of Cowell nastiness. He rips this pair of teenagers to shreds, leaving them in a state of disbelief.

He compares them to the Little Britain character Vicki Pollard, a not wholly unfair comparison in my eyes. I love the way the show helpfully displays a picture alongside the girls, just to emphasise the point.

And then he takes it further, pushing the point that she looks like a man (Matt Lucas) dressed as a woman. Nice.

So where has this level of brutal piss taking gone to Simon? That’s why we love you, because you’re not afraid to tell these sad, deluded individuals some home truths.

Hopefully Simon will revert to type for the latter part of this series of The X Factor. I miss the looks on the hopefuls faces as their whole world collapses around them.