Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Dermot O’Leary spill the beans on The X Factor; Stephen Fry talks about being back on stage for the first time since he ran-away from a play with depression; and Taylor Swift explains why her break ups inspire her music

The X Factor judges Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger, and host Dermot O’Leary reveal all the gossip on this year’s show. Gary says what he really thinks about Geri Halliwell and admits he sneaks red wine into his teacup, Dermot talks about what it’s like giving all of those comforting hugs and Nicole explains why she has chosen Rylan for the live shows, talks about her recent move to the UK and answers Jonathan’s question about plans to marry Lewis Hamilton.

On The Jonathan Ross Show this week Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Dermot O’Leary give Jonathan all the backstage gossip from this year’s The X Factor.

The relationship between the judges

The judges are known for arguing on the show, but Gary insists it stays on stage.

“I think we’re all quite protective of each other although the gloves do come off on a Saturday night. We have a go at each other, we have a few jokes and we pick on each other, but none of it comes off the stage. It’s all for the fun of the show,” explains Gary.

Gary on Geri Halliwell

Geri Halliwell was a guest judge on The X Factor this year and there was an on air spat between her and Gary Barlow. When Jonathan says viewers not only love seeing the new talent on The X Factor but also the people who shouldn’t be there (meaning the contestants), Gary cheekily says, “Are you talking about Geri Halliwell?”

He later continues, “I’ve known Geri for a long time, she is a sweetheart, but I think she arrived that day thinking, ‘I’ve got a job at last,’ and she really went for it and the producers were loving it and telling her to go more and of course there’s the result right there.”

Dermot on having a picture of the Spice Girls on his bedroom wall at University

Dermot admits he’s a big fan of the Spice Girls. When asked if he loves them he responds saying, “Who doesn’t?” He adds, “When I was at University I had them up on my wall.” He continues, “Baby is probably my favourite.”

Gary and Nicole disagree over contestant Rylan

Rylan Clark is The X Factor contestant that everyone’s talking about this year. He famously howled when Nicole delivered the news that she was taking him to the live shows. It’s clear Gary wouldn’t have made the same choice if Rylan had been in his category.

“Come on Nicole, you’ve got ears,” says Gary, when they are discussing Rylan.

“His voice has grown and he’s not a big ballad singer, he’s a great performer,” defends Nicole.

Gary admits to sneaking red wine into his teacup

Gary tells Jonathan that he’s a big red wine drinker.

“(I like) any red wine. I’m picky with food, not with drink,” says Gary.

Jonathan jokes that Gary gets drunk during the show.

“That is actually slightly true,” says Gary. “I don’t drink during the ITV1 show but as we flip to ITV2, and I realise less people are watching, my tea arrives and it has got red wine in it,” he laughs.

Dermot on those hugs

The X Factor is an emotional rollercoaster for the contestants but luckily Dermot is always on hand to offer a shoulder to cry on. But what’s it like for Dermot?

“I’m basically just a pop music social worker really,” laughs Dermot.

Nicole on moving to the UK and is marriage to Lewis Hamilton on the cards?

Nicole tells Jonathan that she has just moved to the UK from America.

“I just moved here two nights ago,” says Nicole.

“So you moved here to be with Mr Hamilton?,” asks Jonathan.

“Well, Lewis is obviously in Japan right now. He doesn’t live in the UK,” she explains.

“So you’ve moved here to be away from him?,” jokes Jonathan.

“Unfortunately everyone’s like ‘you guys are going to be together all the time,’ but the races and the live shows…” explains Nicole.

“But are you together right now?,” questions Jonathan.

“Yeah we’re together,” confirms Nicole.

“How long before you’re going to get married?,” asks Jonathan.

“I don’t know you’ll have to ask him,” says Nicole.

“I asked him and he said I had to ask you,” says Jonathan.

Dermot on his recent wedding and honeymoon – he bumped into Morrissey!

Dermot has recently married his long-term girlfriend Dee Koppang.

“The whole thing was fantastic,” says Dermot. “It was just a great day and we went on honeymoon to Italy. We walked into a hotel in Rome and we dumped our bags and we came downstairs to the courtyard and had the strangest situation – David Moyes the Everton Manager was sat over there and Morrissey was sat over there,” he continues. Dermot explains that he just had to go over to Morrissey.

“I went over and I said ‘It’s lovely to see you,’ and he said these words, ‘Really? I’m sure you’d say the same thing to Barry Manilow or Gary Barlow.’ I said ‘No it is. Morrissey, I’m here on my honeymoon’ and he said, ‘It won’t last, these things never do.’”

Stephen Fry opens up to Jonathan about being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and his excitement at being back on stage

Hugely respected actor, presenter and writer Stephen Fry tells Jonathan about being back on stage for the first time in years. He’s currently starring in Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre.

“The last time I was in the run of a play in the West End I spectacularly bombed out,” explains Stephen. “I left the play without telling anybody, on a Sunday, and took a car to Dover and a ferry to Zeebrugge, drove across Belgium and I was first spotted in Bruges. So everybody thought I’d just basically escaped to Bruges and everybody kept saying, ‘Why Belgium?’. But in fact I was on my way to I didn’t know where. I thought somehow I’d end up at the end of Denmark on a rock with a white pullover smoking a pipe. I’d just had a complete breakdown, I was just totally miserable and weird – and it was all very embarrassing and shaming,” recalls Stephen.

Stephen continues, “I got a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder and that made me realise that I couldn’t do everything I thought I could.”

Taylor Swift explains how break ups inspire her music

Pop sensation Taylor Swift, who has a current single out called Never Getting Back Together, admits a lot of her songs are about break ups.

“You seem to have had more than your fair share of break ups,” says Jonathan. “Yeah, there have been a few,” she admits.

Taylor who is rumoured to be dating Conor Kennedy tells Jonathan she prefers not to discuss her personal life but is happy for it to inspire her music.

“I would much rather my personal life be sung about. I think it sounds nicer that way, rather than me talking about it in some magazine article,” she explains.

Jonathan asks Taylor whether she worries that if her current relationship turns out to be a happy relationship the material will dry up.

“Do I worry about that? I worry about everything. Name a topic, I worry about it,” says Taylor.

She later explains, “I think there’s no such thing as a simple emotion. I think you can be happy but there’s always a complex undertone to that. What if you’re scared you’re going to lose it? That’s a type of sadness that’s a by-product of happiness. In every emotion you feel there are 80,000 different sub categories that you can turn into a simple emotion and make it three and a half minutes long and write a song about it.”

Taylor tells Jonathan that she can always use previous break ups to inspire later singles. “You stockpile all the pain and you just draw from it later.”