It’s the one bit of X Factor news we never saw coming…

He’s practically part of the furniture at this stage, so X Factor fans will no doubt be surprised to hear that Irish judge Louis Walsh is quitting the series.

After a decade at the helm of the show, where he has pulled a Benjamin Button and aged backwards, Walsh has announced that the forthcoming series will be his last.

Speaking to TV Times magazine, Louis said:

"I'm happy this is going to be my last year. I've been judging X Factor for 10 years so I've done it all."

A spokesperson for The X Factor said: "We're delighted Louis is back for a record breaking 10th series this year.

"It's far too early to say what the judging panel for 2014 may or may not look like."

Walsh will leave the X Factor after the upcoming tenth season

Louis was briefly fired by Simon Cowell at the beginning of the 2007 series, and replaced by dancer Brian Friedman, but within days the old order was reinstated.

Walsh is the man who pushed for Jedward to make it through to the live shows, and his act Shayne Ward won the competition in its second series.

Prior to X Factor, Walsh was a judge on Popstars: The Rivals, where Girls Aloud were formed.

As for his future, Walsh said: "I'm going to be managing Shane Filan from Westlife and I'm putting together a new boy band."