London, Aug. 16 (ANI): Producers of 'X Factor' got into a trouble as a television fake footage scandal emerged after chiefs confessed that some scenes of the program were staged.

Clips of the new series showed Simon Cowell casually chatting about Louis Walsh's return, while seeming to read from an autocue.

The footage fuelled suspicions that the axing and return of the judge was just a publicity stunt, which misled the viewers.

X Factor creator Simon, however, insisted that the sacking of Walsh was real.

"Hand on heart, Louis was sacked. People keep asking if it was a scam. I wish I'd been that smart," the Mirror quoted him as saying.

In this Sunday's show, Simon appears to ponder Louis' absence and telling producer Richard Holloway, "Something is wrong and I can't put my finger on it."

Sharon Osbourne also says, "We miss Louis. The chemistry is not there."

ITV entertainment supremo Paul Jackson, however, has admitted that some of the scenes missed by the camera had been shot again.

"Occasionally we go back and shoot something which we believe is vital to the story. We shoot what happened, we do it close to the incident and we do it to get the story right," he added.

"We've always done that but obviously we're in a slightly sensitive climate. We've never done anything to mislead the public. We tell stories, not lies," he added.

Jackson insisted that 'X Factor' producers would alert viewers if they felt some re-shot incidents were misleading.

But Simon defended the practive, saying, "We've got to show the audience something. It's much more honest to show that stuff than say, 'There's lots of things happening but we're not going to show you that. Louis is back." (ANI)