Cow‧ell, Simon /ˈkaʊəl/
(1959–) a British music and television producer, who had the idea for the popular television programmes Pop Idol in Britain, and American Idol in the US. He also acted as a judge for these programmes and for World Idol. He is known for saying cruel things to the people who sing in the competitions, so that he is sometimes called Mr Nasty or Judge Dread. He is also known for saying, ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but...’ just before saying something rude.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲