Simon Cowell Loses Out on Stars Duets in the UK  2/1/06

American Idol star Simon Cowell has been forced to scrap plans for a new UK talent show named Stars Duets, because British television channel BBC1 already airs a similar program. 

The music mogul had planned to pair celebrities with professional singers and challenge them to duet on live television. But the BBC pipped the competitive star's collaboration with rival network ITV - scheduling their show Just the Two of Us to start on 23 February (06). 

Despite the setback, American fans will still be able to enjoy Stars Duets, because Cowell has already sold the formula to US broadcasters Fox. 

He says, "It was a bit galling when I first read about the BBC show as we'd worked on production on Star Duets for about a year. "There is no way we could do the same show. You win some you lose some. "But Stars Duets will be a bit hit in America."