The Chase star Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan tipped for Celebrity X Factor

The Chase star Jenny Ryan. Photo / Getty Images

Simon Cowell is launching a celebrity spin-off of X Factor which is tipped to star The Chase's "Vixen" Jenny Ryan.

Cowell has reportedly set aside some £3 million to make the show happen, including booking big celebrities and offering the winner a serious record deal.

An insider told The Sun: "Simon knows that getting the right stars to enter is the key to its success, so to make that more appealing he's decided to put a proper record deal with Syco on the table for the winner — with serious money behind it.

"It's a proper competition and they want people who can really sing but who are big personalities too."

According to The Sun, one of the stars rumoured to have signed on is The Chase's Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan.

Ryan already stars on Celebrity Masterchef, and would be following in the reality TV footsteps of her Chase co-star Anne Hegerty who gained even more of a following when she appeared on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here last year.

Ryan has already shown off her singing skills during Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief and a source told The Sun: "If people are surprised by the name, they'll be even more taken aback by just how good Jenny's voice is.

"She might just turn out to be the dark horse of Celebrity X Factor."

Another celeb tipped to take part is New Zealand's own Brendan Cole, who was axed from BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.

He's apparently turning his hand to singing on the new reality show which will air on the BBC's rival channel, as a "two fingers up" to his former employer.

A source told the Sun on Sunday: "Brendan is a big character and the bosses are sure that he will be a big draw for their audience. For Brendan's part, he's excited about the prospect of a new challenge.

"It's also not lost on him that appearing on a rival channel in a big prime time slot is a bit of a two fingers up at his old bosses at the BBC."

Brendan has previously sung on the BBC's show Just the Two of Us in 2007, where he duetted with soul singer Beverley Knight and came in second.

This time, he's reportedly teamed up with Holby City star Jeremy Edwards to make a "supergroup".

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A post shared by Brendan Cole (@brendancoleinsta) on Nov 5, 2018 at 11:56pm PST