{"id":8810,"date":"2025-05-24T18:14:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T18:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810"},"modified":"2025-05-24T18:14:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T18:14:26","slug":"x-factor-legend-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810","title":{"rendered":"X Factor Legend Has Died"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the sad news, tributes are pouring in on social media, with one fan writing: \u201cAbsolutely heartbreaking, . Sleep well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another person says: \u201cWhat a legend! I used to love seeing him on the screen! .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sorry for your loss, sending you all love, hugs, and prayers at this difficult time,\u201d a third comments.<\/p>\n

\"Tony
Tony Adkins, famous for his time on X Factor, has tragically died. Credit: Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bodyguard Tony Adkins, known more commonly as \u2018Big Tony,\u2019 has died aged 64.<\/p>\n

Adkins had a distinct and unforgettable role in the iconic\u00a0British<\/a>\u00a0TV<\/a>\u00a0show\u00a0X Factor<\/em>, he was often seen dramatically removing contestants who refused to leave or if they became hostile towards the judges.<\/p>\n

Some of the most memorable clips in the show\u2019s history often show \u2018Big Tony\u2019 appearing on screen to tackle an angry contestant.<\/p>\n

The 64-year-old was by Simon Cowell\u2019s side for eight years, for his time on the talent show came to an end in 2009.<\/p>\n

\"Tony
Tony Adkins worked closely with Simon Cowell for eight years. Credit: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Adkins\u2019s time working on the show and for Cowell ended, he shared nothing but praise for the music mogul.<\/p>\n

Adkins told the\u00a0Mirror<\/a>: \u201cSimon was so laid-back and a very nice guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was generous, too. Whenever the show finished \u2013 and at Christmas \u2013 you\u2019d get an envelope as a thank you. The last one I got had \u00a3700 stuffed in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former bodyguard added: \u201cHe\u2019s a very private person. He doesn\u2019t give much away. You never see him drunk or out of control.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimon is vain \u2013 he does his hair all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adkins revealed that Cowell had around \u201920 identical T-shirts,\u2019 sharing a memory of when the judge found a hole in one, so he pulled another from a large pile of T-shirts he had.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0X Factor<\/em>\u00a0legend also played the role of a giant in\u00a0Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Tony
Tony Adkins died while on a rugby tour with his club. Credit: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The heartbreaking news of Adkins\u2019 passing was confirmed by his cousin on social media.<\/p>\n

The family member penned: \u201cIt is with great sadness that my family would like to announce that my cousin Big Tony,\u00a0Simon Cowell\u2019s ex-bodyguard, passed away on Easter Sunday while on a Rugby Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a lovable Rogue and will be missed very much, RIP Big T.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adkins\u2019 rugby club, Hammersmith and Fulham RFC, which he\u2019d been a part of for 40 years, shared: \u201cIt is with immense sadness that Hammersmith & Fulham RFC pays tribute to a true gent and great Hammer, Tony Adkins, who passed away on Easter Sunday whilst on tour with the Club in Poland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post continued: \u201cMore than a Rugby player, Tony found a niche later in life under the bright lights, serving as a long-time bodyguard for Simon Cowell during his time on\u00a0X Factor<\/em>, and featuring in the\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0franchise as a giant, which all agreed was fitting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowell has not yet publicly commented on his former bodyguard\u2019s death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the sad news, tributes are pouring in on social media, with one fan writing: \u201cAbsolutely heartbreaking, . Sleep well.\u201d Another person says: \u201cWhat a legend! I… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":0,"today_views":0},"yoast_head":"\nX Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"X Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following the sad news, tributes are pouring in on social media, with one fan writing: \u201cAbsolutely heartbreaking, . Sleep well.\u201d Another person says: \u201cWhat a legend! I...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"X Story News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"526\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8\"},\"headline\":\"X Factor Legend Has Died\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810\"},\"wordCount\":513,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810\",\"name\":\"X Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg\",\"width\":526,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?p=8810#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"X Factor Legend Has Died\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"X Story News\",\"description\":\"Breaking News, X Story\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8\",\"name\":\"Chris Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Taylor\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/xstorynews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"X Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"X Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News","og_description":"Following the sad news, tributes are pouring in on social media, with one fan writing: \u201cAbsolutely heartbreaking, . Sleep well.\u201d Another person says: \u201cWhat a legend! I...","og_url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810","og_site_name":"X Story News","article_published_time":"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":526,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Taylor","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810"},"author":{"name":"Chris Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8"},"headline":"X Factor Legend Has Died","datePublished":"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810"},"wordCount":513,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810","url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810","name":"X Factor Legend Has Died - X Story News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-24T18:14:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","width":526,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=8810#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"X Factor Legend Has Died"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/","name":"X Story News","description":"Breaking News, X Story","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00c89e19f0494d049761577cf202bcf8","name":"Chris Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dda2a64e347b05e808aeb904ce68f09f8e53ca718760587d1233160c1e54339e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Taylor"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/xstorynews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"views":845,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/470175836_1071115001694765_9037726619221579071_n-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8812,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8810\/revisions\/8812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}