Every Celebrity Louis Walsh Has Mentioned On Big Brother From Cheryl Cole To Jedward

20 March 2024, 12:03 | Updated: 21 March 2024, 15:42

Louis Walsh has not been afraid to name drop while on Celebrity Big Brother. Here's every time he mentioned a celebrity encounter and what he said.

The return of Celebrity Big Brother brought X Factor legend Louis Walsh back to our screens. He was known on the talent show for not holding back as a judge, and he has been the exact same while in the CBB house.

His fellow housemates, like Zeze Mills and David Potts, could not escape Louis' judgement, so it's no surprise Big Brother gave him the challenge of judging the celebs on first impressions during the launch episode, alongside his X Factor co-star Sharon Osborne.

Both aged 71, Louis and Sharon have been in the showbiz industry for quite some time, meaning they've seen much more than the average Joe. As close comrades in the house, the pair were often caught reminiscing on their time working with the likes of Simon Cowell and other household names.

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Despite the 24-hour surveillance, the TV veterans didn't hold back in their critique of certain celebs. But as the 'celebrity lodger' Sharon left after the first week of the show, leaving Louis as the only showbiz mogul in the house with stories to tell.

But tell he did. Louis, who has managed the likes of mega successful pop groups such as Westlife and Girls Aloud, has not been short of stories to tell the other housemates when it comes to his time working with the stars.

We won't forget his criticism of Jedward and their iconic response with TOWIE's Gemma Collins, but as the show nears the final it's only right we recap every time Louis has named dropped. Here are all the celebs he's spoken about - from Cheryl Cole to James Corden...

Louis Walsh calls Jedward ‘vile’

Simon Cowell

As well as discussing Sharon's dispute with the record executive, Louis revealed the time he felt betrayed by Simon Cowell while working on X Factor.

Louis explained how seriously he and the other judges took the show, telling Zeze that in 2008 he had thought he was going to win the show after booking Westlife to perform with JLS. However, Cheryl Cole, now Cheryl Tweedy - who had Alexandra Burke in the final - was helped by Simon, who pulled out all the stops and secured Beyoncé to perform Alexandra, who went on to win the show.

"Simon loves Cheryl, what the f**k did he do? He got her Beyoncé...I didn't find out until the middle of the week, that's what he's like, that's what makes him good," he said.

As well as the X Factor drama, in an earlier conversation Louis said he hadn't spoke to Simon before entering CBB, he said: "No, it’s all about him. Simon lives in this bubble and it’s all about him. It’s fine. I accept that. That’s just the way he is. We spoke a few months ago, I just rang him to have a chat and he was the same as ever.

His remarks continued: "I love him. I think the world of him, I really do. I know his faults. I know he’s not perfect. He wears stupid clothes, stupid haircut, new faces ... his face has changed so much. He brings energy to a room, brings something, I don’t know what it is. It’s not like he’s Einstein or anything. But he’s good. He’s good with music and stuff."

Cheryl Tweedy (known as Cheryl Cole)

In one of the episodes, CBB housemate Zeze brought up Cheryl Tweedy’s 2003 assault of a toilet attendant. Talking to Marisha Wallace, she said: "Cheryl Cole had that big incident where she beat up the toilet attendant. She gave [the victim] a black eye, it was a big thing in the papers."

Louis whispered, “It’s true,” after revealing that he was her manager at time time. Zeze explained how, despite the incident, Cheryl's career remained unscathed, to which Louis replied: “Well she had great PR... they looked after her.”

But Louis maintained that "it's not forgotten".

Ronan Keating

Louis managed Ronan Keating while he was in the pop group Boyzone, and the pair later formed the band Westlife, however whilst in the CBB house, Louis was pretty critical of Ronan.

Speaking to Sharon, Louis stated: “He was such a p****. Everybody thinks he’s a lovely guy, do you know what I mean? He hasn’t had a hit record since I left. He sacked me.”

Louis Walsh talks Cheryl’s toilet assault

Gary Barlow

Whilst on the show, Louis hasn't been short of comments about Take That. But unlike some of his other comments he has been mostly positive about the group, telling Ekin-Su and Sharon that he 'loves' Gary Barlow.

Lay in the bedroom with his two closest CBB friends he came out with: "I love Gary Barlow." Ekin-Su revealed she had a bit of a crush on Gary, to which Louis replied: "He loves his wife, he's very happily married."

Then later on, whilst Sharon was packing to leave, she said: "All of those guys from Take That are good guys."

Louis agreed before adding: "What happened to Jason [Orange], he just disappeared, he was a nice guy. He's gone and he didn't have to do much, just a bit of dancing. That's all he had to do, he wasn't a singer as such, Gary and Mark [Owen] kind of held the vocals together.

His remarks on the band concluded with: "Mark's got very old, very old."

Jedward

While speaking to Coronation Street's Colson Smith, Louis said that Jedward were "vile" to work with, however they made him a lot of money, claiming to have made £5 million from working with them. He told his fellow housemate: "But they were novelty, it was great for the show."

Back in 2009 twin brothers, John and Edward, found fame on X Factor and were coached by Louis, they saw his comments on the CBB and were quick to respond.

Jedward hit back at Louis Walsh after CBB comments

James Corden, Anna Wintour & Ellen DeGeneres

Speaking to the uncle of the Princess of Wales, Gary Goldsmith, Sharon had said that TV personality James Corden was someone who always 'name dropped'. She claimed he played the Hollywood game well when he moved from the UK to the States.

Louis seconded her point, saying: "Kissing all the right people. Anna Wintour 'mwah, mwah, mwah'." Wintour has been the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue since 1988 and is well revered in the industry, but Sharon said: "She loves him [James Corden] but who likes Anna Wintour? I think she's the c word."

"Yes, she is," Louis agreed, before throwing another household name in the mix, "and Ellen DeGeneres" he insisted.

Nicole Scherzinger

In a conversation with Sharon, Louis said Nicole Scherzinger 'wants to get the Tony', referring to her recent role in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary 'Sunset Boulevard'.

Sharon said she believes she will win the Tony for it and a supportive Louis said: "Good, I'm happy."

Colin Farrell

During the final week of CBB, Louis candidly revealed that Irish actor Colin Farrell had auditioned for Boyzone, but he turned him down, telling him 'he can't sing'.

Louis revealed that The Banshees of Inisherin actor was a close friend, explaining: “I said ‘you can’t sing, I can’t give you the gig’ because I knew him very well. And he said to me ‘oh I wanna be an actor’ and I said ‘you’re wasting your f***ing time.’”

Conceding that Colin has been very successful, having received an Oscar nomination, Louis said: “He went and he worked, no no, he worked."

U2

Louis claimed to have got the band U2, led by vocalist Bono, the manager that took them from 'unknown' to world class. Speaking to Colson, he said: "It happened about 35 years ago. True story. In his book, page 95, I was in a place called Captain America's.

"It's a restaurant. It's a really good burger restaurant in Grafton Street in Dublin. I loved going in there. I went in there every week. And I went in and I saw U2. They were unknown. They were a brand-new band from Dublin. And they were at the next table."

Louis said the band "were chatting away about changing their manager, out loud". He went on: "And, of course, I was listening. And I knew Paul McGuinness. He is probably one of the best managers in the world.

"Eventually, I went over. I said, 'Guys, I heard your conversation. I know Paul McGuinness. He's good. Probably the best manager in the world. Because he believes in you guys.' That's the most important thing and manager could do, he believes in a brand-new act. And they listened."

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