LOUIS WALSH - WALSH AXES TV SLOT OVER GATELY DEATH

WALSH AXES TV SLOT OVER GATELY DEATH

Music mogul LOUIS WALSH pulled out of his slot as a judge on U.K. talent show THE X FACTOR on Sunday night (11Oct09) as he mourns tragic BOYZONE star STEPHEN GATELY.
The 33-year-old singer reportedly passed away in his sleep on Saturday (10Oct09) during a vacation with his partner Andrew Cowles on the Spanish island of Majorca.
Walsh guided Gately and his Boyzone bandmates to fame as their manager - and he cancelled his regular appearance on the hit British TV show on Sunday after hearing of Gately's death.
Host Dermot O'Leary told viewers, "As you may have heard, Stephen Gately from Boyzone tragically died last night. Louis, as you know, was Boyzone's manager and Stephen was a friend of Louis, so Louis won't be joining us tonight."
Fellow X Factor judge Simon Cowell took the opportunity to pay tribute to the singer: "I want to say on behalf of us and the show, this is really, really tragic news. I want to send out my condolences to the family. Louis and Stephen were incredibly close. He did a lot for Stephen. But, as they say, the show must go on."