Telly Mix

The 52-year-old media mogul – currently appearing as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent – is said to feel ‘betrayed’ by the broadcaster after they failed to support him when revelations from his ‘unauthorized’ biography emerged.

Cowell is also seething after their production arm, ITV Studios, poached his ‘right hand woman’ Siobahn Greene from Syco TV to become their new director of entertainment earlier this week.

Now according to The Mirror, he has approached Danny Cohen, head of rival channel BBC One – whose talent contest The Voice UK is locked in a ratings war with BGT – with an idea for a new scripted series.

An ‘insider’ told the newspaper: “Simon rang Danny Cohen to congratulate him on how well The Voice was doing. He then said he had a great idea for a brilliant drama and outlined it.

“He’s gone off to do a proposal and it will be treated like any other idea from an independent production company. If it’s brilliant then great.

“We’ll see a treatment then get it developed in the normal way.”

However, Simon is apparently already boasting about his ‘new BBC drama’ to friends, in a move that has dismayed Cohen.

A source responded: “We’re a long way off any commission. We’re happy to talk but there’s a feeling we could be being used in Cowell’s ongoing war with ITV.

“Cowell wants the BBC to know he could be working with us – this is his way of flexing his pecs and showing them he has options. Danny doesn’t want to be played off by Cowell.”

The show would be his first foray in to drama since 2008, when he briefly acted as a consultant on ITV’s ill-fated ‘Rock Rivals’.

Simon has had a working partnership with ITV for over a decade, having first appeared as a TV judge on Pop Idol in 2001.