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London - X Factor bosses spent £10 000 to fly Gary Barlow from auditions to a Take That concert.
The singer had been watching pop hopefuls all day for the ITV1 show at London's 02 Arena but had a performance with his bandmates in the evening at Wembley Stadium, so bosses arranged for a private jet to fly him just 30km across the UK capital.
Speaking about the route which took Gary from London City Airport to RAF Northolt and then on to Wembley two nights in a row earlier this summer, a source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We shelled out all this money for a private plane as we wanted him to see all the auditions and get to his gigs.
"It sounds a lot but we thought it was the best way to get him to Wembley."
X Factor chiefs are said to be thrilled with the 40-year-old singer's role as lead judge - alongside panelists Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland and N'Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos - in the wake of Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole's departures from the series and are happy to do whatever it takes to keep him happy.
An insider said: "He's a complete natural. There's no doubt he'll be the star of the series now that Cheryl has gone - and he won't be short of TV work in the future."
The singer had been watching pop hopefuls all day for the ITV1 show at London's 02 Arena but had a performance with his bandmates in the evening at Wembley Stadium, so bosses arranged for a private jet to fly him just 30km across the UK capital.
Speaking about the route which took Gary from London City Airport to RAF Northolt and then on to Wembley two nights in a row earlier this summer, a source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We shelled out all this money for a private plane as we wanted him to see all the auditions and get to his gigs.
"It sounds a lot but we thought it was the best way to get him to Wembley."
X Factor chiefs are said to be thrilled with the 40-year-old singer's role as lead judge - alongside panelists Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland and N'Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos - in the wake of Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole's departures from the series and are happy to do whatever it takes to keep him happy.
An insider said: "He's a complete natural. There's no doubt he'll be the star of the series now that Cheryl has gone - and he won't be short of TV work in the future."
