AMERICAN IDOL - COWELL SECOND IN US TV RICH LIST

COWELL SECOND IN US TV RICH LIST

American Idol boss Simon Cowell has been named as the second highest-paid star on US TV.

The X-Factor judge was behind Oprah Winfrey in the standings with earnings of £22.5 million.

However the US chat show queen was still someway ahead, according to the US TV Guide magazine, taking home £130 million.

Nevertheless second place for Cowell shows how successful his American Idol show has been in what is an extremely competitive TV market.

The talent show runs in tandem with America's Got Talent, which has similarly attracted huge audiences.

In the UK, Cowell has been a household name on TV since appearing as a judge on the ITV1 programme Pop Idol.

He has since managed a number of the winning artists to have emerged from his talent shows, most recently Paul Potts who won Britain's Got Talent.

The former mobile phone salesman has since gone on to have a number one album and will perform at the Royal Variety show in December.

Another British star achieving in the US business is Hugh Laurie, who reportedly gets paid £150,000 an episode for the hit drama House.

The British actor has won a number of awards for his portrayal of the brilliant but volatile doctor, complete with believable American accent and furious rants.