Now ITV has announced that it is looking for a new sponsor for its fourth series.

Nokia’s acting head of marketing Marcus Dacombe said: "Nokia’s relationship with The X Factor over the last three years has been beneficial for both brands. We wish the programme well."

ITV’s brand partnerships director Gary Knight said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to be associated with one of the biggest entertainment shows on British TV.

"As a commercial franchise there is no other series that is bigger. It combines huge reach on air with the very latest in media technology off air and an unlimited licence opportunity."

Kate Thornton and show judge Louis Walsh were sacked from the ITV1 talent show in March.

Dannii Minogue will be a new judge, while show chiefs are still hunting for a fourth for the new series.

On Tuesday, X Factor spin-off show The Xtra Factor was rapped by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom for appearing to promote Nokia in one of its episodes.

Simon Cowell richer by £40 million - April 19 2007
Music mogul Simon Cowell’s wealth has ballooned by an extra £40 million in just one year, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

The X Factor and American Idol judge, 47, now sits on an estimated wealth of £100 million. From 944th position last year to 700 this year, no other individual from the world of pop has risen up the ranks so much.

The music entrepreneur has overtaken Robbie Williams, 33, in the forthcoming Sunday Times list, which forms the basis of ITV1 show Britain’s Rich List.

Pop star Williams, at number 755, has increased his wealth by £5 million despite a spell in rehab and the critical mauling of his latest album, to £95 million this year.

The world’s richest footballer, David Beckham, 31, has an extra £25 million, which takes his wealth to £112 million, and is ranked at 619. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s divorce settlement with wife Irina has no impact on his Rich List position, remaining at number two with an estimated £10.8 billion.

EasyJet’s Stelios Haji-Ioannou, 40, is closing the gap with entrepreneur Richard Branson, 56, having broken the billionaire barrier. Stelios is now worth £1.29 billion and has moved up from 80 to 49th place. Branson has dropped out of the top 10 and has fallen two places to 11 with £3.1 billion assets.

Sir Paul McCartney, whose divorce settlement with Heather Mills is yet to be thrashed out, is currently ranked at 102 with £725 million.

The wealthiest man in Britain, taking first place in the list, is steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. He has increased his fortune to more than £19 billion - up from last year’s £14.9 billion.

The list, presented on ITV1 by Dragons’ Den star and businessman Peter Jones, worth £160 million, shows that Britain’s super-rich are getting wealthier. It now takes £70 million to even make the 1,000-strong list, compared to £60 million in 2006. The number of billionaires in the annual list will be up by more than 20% against last year’s total of 54. It also shows that fewer than 10% of Britain’s richest 1,000 are women.