The music mogul, on why he chose not to sign the Irish group

Don’t look now, Louis Walsh. Because Simon Cowell has described your biggest chart success story as “the world’s ugliest boyband”.

The music mogul , 54, spoke to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show about why he chose not to sign the Irish quintet.

“I said to the manager at the time, ‘Forget it!’ And then he re-auditioned and one of the ugly ones dyed his hair blonde for the second time I saw them and he got back into the group.

“I didn’t recognise him but it all worked out fine and they sold about 50 million albums.”

Cowell’s remarks come just days after former Westlife member Kian Egan was crowned King of the Jungle after winning I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

Walsh is yet to comment on his X Factor boss’ claims.

During the interview, Cowell went on to recall his biggest music industry regret: not signing the Spice Girls.

He admitted he was “hurt” when the girl band, who went on to sell millions, turned him down.

“I knew they were going to big and I offered them a deal but I was just too late on the deal and they didn’t want to sign to me, that kind of hurt at the time,” he told Leno.

Cowell was also handed a tiny pair of high-waisted jeans on the show, intended for his future son with Lauren Silverman.