
Megan McKenna reveals Simon Cowell called her personally to tell her she no longer had a record deal after winning X Factor
The former reality star, chef and singer, 32, won The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and was subsequently awarded a record deal by music mogul Simon, 65.
But soon after it was announced that Syco Music would no longer be operational and artists would have to 'find a new home'.
In a new interview Megan has described the moment Simon called her to explain what had happened.
She told The Mirror: 'The label shut down after I won, so it was pretty hard. It was tough because I'd worked so, so hard. But Simon and I had a nice relationship.
'He actually rang me – which was crazy, because it's not every day Simon Cowell rings you – to say that the label was closing down.
'He was really nice about it and said, 'I'm sorry, but you need to find a new home.' But it's not an easy thing to do.'
While Megan is still involved in music she is now a mum to her son Landon, nine months, with her husband Oliver Burke.
The pair wed in a lavish ceremony earlier this summer surrounded by family and friends.
They had a raucous party after saying 'I do' in front of their loved ones at Grantley Hall in North Yorkshire.
Last month Megan shared an insight into her honeymoon as she revealed what it is really like honeymooning with a baby.
And after they welcomed their first child Landon in October, 2024, they then enjoyed their first official holiday as a married couple while on their honeymoon.
Sharing a sweet reel to Instagram from the trip, Megan showed her followers what it was like to honeymoon with their toddler.
In the clip, the couple could be seen taking turns holding Landon as they attempted to enjoy a few romantic dinners out together.
They also posted numerous clips of them pushing the little one in a pram around the luxurious hotel.
Alongside the clip, she penned: 'A beautiful night on our honeymoon with a very hectic voiceover ♥️
'We have hardly got dressed up this whole holiday because it's so hard to go for dinner due to Landon's bedtime!
'We tried putting him to sleep in the pram and doing a 8pm dinner and wow it affects his whole night sleep!!! So we've got it down to a T.
'I feed Landon his dinner at 6. I bath him we get ready and then go for a 7pm dinner to be back in the room for 8.30. Basically we inhale our dinner pretty rushed but oh well.'
Last month they also shared an insight into their wedding day as she posted their professional video of their big day to Instagram.
Sharing a compilation of highlights from the special day Oliver looked emotional as he shed a few tears while waiting for his bride-to-be at the end of the aisle.
She looked elegant as she donned a bespoke flowing white gown from Maison Peter Langner.
Her gown featured a voluminous pleated skirt, a sweeping train, and a structured corset bodice with exposed boning, embellished with hand-embroidered macramé lace roses.
Megan and Oliver gave a glimpse of the lavish venue, which features beautifully landscaped grounds, a suite adorned with a decadent chandelier, and a champagne and cocktail bar.
The couple shared a passionate kiss in front of their friends and family after exchanging their vows before they were showered in confetti.
For the wedding reception, Megan slipped into a gorgeous white couture gown, complete with elegant sleeves and pearl accessories.
The beauty looked on cloud nine as she shared a romantic first dance with her husband.
The couple then shared another passionate kiss as they cut their jaw-dropping seven-tier cake in front of their wedding party.
No expense was spared for the lavish reception, as the happy couple went all out on decorations, the band, and dancers, partying their way late into the evening.
Alongside the sweet clip, Megan wrote: 'Forever & ever and always. 07/06/25 A real life fairytale. @tynegate_films.'
The couple, who welcomed their first child Landon in October, had a joint hen and stag do at the end of May.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
3 minutes ago
- The Independent
David Tennant discusses ‘very intense' role in new ITV real-life drama
ITV 's forthcoming seven-part drama, The Hack, will explore the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World. David Tennant stars as investigative journalist Nick Davies, who uncovered the unethical practices of the newspaper. The series will cover events between 2002 and 2012, detailing how journalists illegally accessed voicemails of celebrities, murder victims, and the Royal Family. Written by Jack Thorne, the drama also features Robert Carlyle as former Met Police detective Dave Cook and Toby Jones as former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger; the series is set to air on ITV and STV later this year. Tennant said that shooting the series had been 'very intense' due to the complex nature of the phone hacking scandal, but was proud to be part of the new drama.


Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island's Dejon says he's 'reflecting on his actions' towards Meg since being axed from the villa and admits she's 'stuck by me more than I deserve'
Love Island's Dejon Noel-Williams has admitted he has been 'reflecting on his actions' since leaving the villa with Meg Moore on Sunday night. The hunk came under fire for his behaviour towards Meg, after keeping her around but continuously flirting with every bombshell that entered the villa. While they are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend, they had a tumultuous time on the series - which this year has even been acknowledged in a Women's Aid statement. The charity accused some men on the show of 'showcasing toxic male behaviour' as well as 'gaslighting' and 'manipulating'. Dejon and Meg's departure from the show was decided by the rest of the Islanders, with their reasoning for axing the couple now striking a chord with him. They narrowly missed out on a place in this year's final and were sent packing from the TV mansion during Sunday's penultimate show. Speaking on Love Island Aftersun, Dejon, 26, told Maya Jama: 'It was interesting the way that we got dumped, because I feel like the decisions were definitely… you kind of heard from both people's point of view. 'Some people saw bad things and some people saw good things. So it definitely made me in this time of being like reflect on my actions over the villa. 'Coming in, I just thought, I'm on Love Island. I'm gonna explore connections, I'm gonna be flirty, I'm gonna see what my strongest connection was. 'But in the back of my head, I always knew it was Meg, so I definitely see why that kind of… there's a lot of opinions about that, and I feel like I could have explored connections with being less flirty and stuff.' The professional footballer added: 'I definitely understand why people have their opinions regarding that, and even there's times that, honestly, she's stuck by me, and she tells me how she feels, and she stuck by me more than more than she should. More than I deserve a lot of times.' Dejon and Meg were dumped from the villa after this year's singletons all returned in a major format shakeup. Maya arrived into the villa to deliver the brutal twist during Sunday night's show. It didn't come as a surprise to Dejon as he candidly confessed: 'We definitely expected it. We were ready to go home, to be honest.' Speaking to Maya Jama on Aftersun, Dejon said the Islanders' opinions on his relationship 'definitely made me in this time of being like reflect on my actions over the villa' Dejon said that Meg has stuck by him 'more than I deserved at times' following backlash from Love Island fans Meanwhile, ahead of this year's finale, bookies have revealed that a shock couple have emerged as the favourites to win just hours ahead of the live final. Odds have revealed that Harry and Shakira are tipped to win the ITV2 dating show despite the pair having had a turbulent time in the villa. According to Ladbrokes, the couple, who have only been together a week, are tipped to win by a massive 10/11. This latest twist has seen the new favourites' odds tumble from 6/1 over the weekend. It was with Yasmin and Jamie, but they have gone out to 7/2 from 11/8 as the frontrunners. Longtime favourites Toni and Cach are still 7/4 from 6/4, while Angel and Ty prop up the betting at 18/1.


Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Edinburgh comedy reviews: The best shows at the 2025 Fringe
Recommendations and the latest reviews from the Telegraph critics on the ground at Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. This article will be updated on a rolling basis throughout the festival. Our picks: Famous faces Performing at the Fringe is a rite of passage for young artists. There's not much in it for established stars – so when they do choose to appear, it's often as a way of giving something back to the festival that made them famous. (Although in the case of some of this year's unexpected Fringe comebacks – I'm looking at you, Bobby Davro – it's hard not to think of the old music-hall joke: They say you play this place twice in your life. Once on the way up… Well, it's nice to be back!) Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge ★★★★☆ 'I couldn't tell you my story without my tragic Irish beginning,' drawls Rosie O'Donnell, as she recalls losing her mother on St Patrick's Day in 1973 when she was 10. The mood is sober, but then O'Donnell pops a confetti cannon to reassure us that this is, after all, a comedy show. In her Edinburgh debut, the 63-year-old New York comedian and talk-show host shares a raw yet richly witty account of her life – including the ongoing feud with President Trump that led her to flee the US and move to Dublin with her adopted child after his re-election. The pair's war of words escalated last month when Trump threatened to revoke her US citizenship and described her as a 'threat to humanity'. O'Donnell retorted by calling him 'King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan.' In this show, O'Donnell addresses their fractious relationship by showing off her anti-Trump art, depicting a red-faced. 'The orange menace had been in for four years. I was depressed,' she explains. She's made over 700 pieces in total. A multi-Emmy and Tony Award winner, O'Donnell is, unsurprisingly, a masterful storyteller. Though the show is supposedly autobiographical, with a chunk dedicated to her relocation to Ireland, it gradually becomes as much a tribute to her child, Clay, whom she adopted when she was 50. Diagnosed with autism and hyperlexia (a condition which means their reading ability is far beyond their years), Clay regularly corrects O'Donnell on facts they consider to be 'common knowledge'. 'I had to stop watching Jeopardy! with when she was six,' O'Donnell quips. A few references fall flat for a largely British audience; a visual gag involving an American news anchor is lost on most, and some cultural touchpoints don't quite land. But these are minor stumbles in an otherwise beautifully constructed show. Common Knowledge is tender, wise, and at times heart-wrenching. A warm hour that lingers long in the memory after the final laugh. LP Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, Aug 10, 8.45pm Alan Davies: Think Ahead ★★★★☆ Returning to stand-up for the first time in a decade, Alan Davies – star of Jonathan Creek and long-serving QI panellist – ventures into edgier, darker territory than those familiar with his affable screen persona will expect. Having lifted the lid on the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his late father in his acclaimed 2020 memoir Just Ignore Him, Davies is now finally, bravely, broaching the subject on stage. A barrel-load of laughs? At points, no. But he's raising a sensitive, under-discussed issue that demands attention and makes you admire more fully his ongoing achievement in seeing the funny side of life after what was plainly a lasting trauma. DC Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, until Aug 10, 7.15pm Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier The bearded wonder (and former Strictly champion) returns with more ingenious musical comedy and whimsical flights of fancy. Nobody makes intelligent nonsense look quite so effortless. Edinburgh Playhouse (Auditorium), Aug 23-24, 3pm/8pm Smack the Pony Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips – the creators of Channel 4's classic all-female sketch show – reunite after more than 20 years apart for this chummy in-conversation event hosted by Kirsty Wark. Gilded Balloon at the Museum (Auditorium), Aug 17-20, 2.45pm Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits After trotting through Dickens's best-loved characters in an acclaimed 2024 Fringe show, the mischievous, potty-mouthed character actress returns for an encore. Pleasance at EICC (Pentland Theatre), Aug 9-24 (not Aug 18, 21), 6pm Our pick: Comedy stars of tomorrow Already well-known among committed comedy fans, each of these acts is on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream. This year might be your last chance to catch them in an intimate venue, so don't miss it. Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall ★★★★★ Off the back of several highly-rated shows, Lou Wall returns to Edinburgh with a manic, musical, PowerPoint-aided hour that questions how much truth a comedian owes their audience. It is a meta-commentary on the nature of stand-up storytelling, and a tightly engineered show that repeatedly pulls the rug from under you… deliberately, and delightfully. It opens with the Australian comedian's now-viral 'Facebook Marketplace' bit, a musical routine about trying to sell a bed frame for free online and the resulting ridiculous interactions with an illogical customer. Wall recounts the story beat by beat, rhymes landing in sync with perfectly timed visuals, before addressing the question raised by countless commenters: did this really happen? Where the line lies between fact and fiction forms the backbone of Breaking the Fifth Wall. It feels like a pertinent time to tackle this topic with the recent controversies around Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer and Raynor Winn's The Salt Path, both of which have come under scrutiny for how 'real' they really are. Wall dives straight into the debate. But rather than retreat into earnestness, this show goes the other way: embracing artifice, subversion, and sleight of hand. Over the hour, Wall fuses anecdotes, musical numbers, and gloriously silly audience participation, including a crowd-pleasing round of 'Stand-up Comedian or Serial Killer?', with an exhausting number of technical cues (well over 300). The result is a tightly orchestrated onslaught that never drags. This is the kind of all-singing, all-poetry-slamming gem that the Fringe is made for. LP Multiple venues, until Aug 24, 10pm Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby ★★★★☆ A fast-rising name on the circuit, Norwegian comedian Thor Stenhaug is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut in an intimate 56-capacity Pleasance bunker. 'In Norway, this would be classed an arena show,' he quips. It might be a bit early to tip him for a best newcomer nomination but Stenhaug's material is razor-sharp; he could very well be destined for real arenas in the future. One Night Stand Baby, as the name suggests, is about growing up as the product of a one-night stand, with parents who are not together… as well as the high expectations placed upon you when you're named after a Nordic God. Stenhaug's observational storytelling is effortlessly compelling. He speaks with relatable ease about the class-based imposter syndrome of dating someone posher than you, the jarring similarities in standards of living between a flat share in London and what he imagines Scandi jail to be, and the quiet, cringing angst of being a late bloomer. It's funny material with a warm, heartfelt undercurrent: the show reads as a subtle love letter to his parents for the stable, warm home they provided despite its complexities. The hour zips by with confident pacing, confirming Stenhaug as a comedian with serious potential. You can easily picture him holding court on a panel show, quick-witted, personable, and armed with a point of view. As a final gimmick (it's the Fringe, so it's allowed), Stenhaug hands out condoms with his face on at the exit to remind the crowd to be safe, or face the consequences. LP Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One, until Aug 13, 8.40pm Ahir Shah: Work in Progress Shah has one of the sharpest minds in stand-up; even his half-written shows are better than most other people's finished work. The last time he brought a work-in-progress show to the Fringe, in 2023, it won the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 14-24, 12pm Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour An Edinburgh debut for one of the most buzzed-about names in American stand-up, whose snappy crowd-work has won him a large following online – and ensured that his Fringe run sold out long in advance. Keep your fingers crossed for last-minute returns. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 18-24, 2.50pm Jacqueline Novak Ninety minutes of exquisitely written gags about sex, Novak's Netflix special Get on Your Knees ingeniously balanced low-brow filth with high-brow literary flourishes. Hopes are high for this New Yorker's follow-up hour of stand-up. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 4), July 30-Aug 23 (not Aug 12,19), 5pm Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People Treen is fun on the radio (as creator/star of Woman's Hour spoof Time of the Week) but far better on stage; her previous Fringe show was a masterclass in sketch comedy, with shades of French and Saunders. Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 6.20pm Jazz Emu: The Pleasure Is All Yours The funniest musical comedy act in the country, preening pop star Jazz Emu is the wonderfully odd alter-ego of character comic Archie Henderson. He returns with more of his smoother-than-smooth funk-pop. Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 9.50pm Our picks: Guaranteed Gold Our picks: Guaranteed Gold A number of shows The Telegraph has recommended in the past are returning to this year's Fringe for a victory lap. I've seen each of these myself, and would pay to watch any of them again in a heartbeat. How to Win Against History This exceedingly witty little musical biography of Henry Cyril Paget, the eccentric Marquess of Anglesey, makes a welcome return to the Fringe, where it was a word-of-mouth hit nine years ago. Underbelly George Square (Udderbelly), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 4, 11, 18), 7.15pm Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Trained at École Philippe Gaulier (the fearsome French clown school where Sacha Baron Cohen learnt his tricks), Julia Masli is a mercurial comic talent. In this brilliant, semi-improvised show she tries her best to solve the problems of every person in the room, one at a time. It's a magical experience – although perhaps not for people who are terrified of audience interaction. Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), Aug 11-24, 11.15pm Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Different Party The drudgery of office work is given a surreal spin in this inventive hour of physical comedy from two of New Zealand's top alternative comedians. At the 2017 Fringe, it had me doubled-over with laughter. The pair are also staging a new show, Hot Chips, which they describe as 'verbose mime'. Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Two), July 30-Aug 17, (not Aug 6, 11), 5.10pm Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy The mercurial comic – whose work ranges from stand-up to clowning – revives three shows: her breakthrough ballet spoof Swan, her cabaret-lecture on economics Chiffchaff; and Raven, a Stephen King tribute which earned her five stars from The Telegraph. Pleasance Dome (King Dome), Aug 12-25, 8pm