Simon Cowell has always been way above any of his X-Factor colleagues in terms of success, finances and global profile. He invented the show. But there's a reason for his seemingly unexplained physical advantage while sitting in the famous chairs: The Simon Cowell Cushion - a patented product.

An audience member at the Scottish auditions told The Sun: "We went down the front to get a photo during one of the breaks and noticed the booster seat It's Simon down to a T. He's a small man with a big opinion and a big personality." And they weren't wrong, in the pictures of Simon's old chair there is indeed a nice black leather cushion, or a booster seat, if you want to use the correct vernacular. However, a spokesperson for Simon told MailOnline: "He is using a cushion for comfort." That would perhaps ring true if one of his co-judges on the show wasn't a certain 6"2 David Walliams. 

Simon's height seems to have translated into a fully blown Napoleon complex, if, that is, the cushion rumours are true. Piers Morgan has previously mocked his diminutive stature: "If you look carefully, Simon grows between shows. When we're on -Britain's Got Talent, he's smaller than me, then suddenly his three pillows arrive and he's taller than me."