A sarcastic Brit with a devilish smile and high-waisted pants may not seem like an obvious choice for a romantic hero. But Simon Cowell topped the polls when British women were asked which celebrity they would most like to see featured in a romantic novel.
The former American Idol meanie secured 17% of the vote among women. Not only did he make it ahead of Johnny Depp and Jake Gyllenhaal, who tied with 12% each, but he also beat out Jude Law, who only took 3% of the vote. (Would any past American Idol contestants make the cut?)
The survey of 1,000 women over 25 also found one in five said they had not experienced any real-life romantic moments in the last four weeks. Four in 10 women claimed they had not shared an intimate kiss in the past month and 38% had not had their partner say “I love you” over the same period. The poll, carried out by Mills & Boon, the famous U.K. romance publisher, to mark the launch of its redesigned covers, suggested women were turning to books, films and television to gain their romance fix, with three in ten claiming they had read up to five romantic novels in the last month. (Wonder if Simon Cowell’s discovery, Susan Boyle, agrees with the stats.)
Strangely, Newsfeed predicts Simon Cowell starring in the next Mills & Boon novel might provide more comic value than romantic fulfillment. But either way, we’re sure it will be entertaining.