Cowell to make millions from US Idol

Kelly Clarkson, a freshfaced former cocktail waitress from Texas was crowned America's Pop Idol last night - but the real winner is the contest's mastermind, British judge Simon Cowell.

With millions of US viewers glued to what has become essential television over the summer months, 20-year-old Clarkson, whose voice has been compared to Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, seems certain to become as big a star as British winner Will Young.

Basking in the success is Cowell, whose BMG label will make millions from producing Clarkson's first single, a ballad called A Moment Like This. Released later this month it is almost certain to top the US charts.

For Cowell, 42, the rewards are likely to be even greater. His Mr Nasty image shocked and delighted American audiences, making him an instant celebrity and the man the country loved to hate. Fox Television, which bought the rights to Pop Idol, made it clear the network believes Cowell is the key to its success with American viewers when yesterday it signed him to a new contract believed to be worth $1 million for a second series this winter.

Cowell's acerbic manner led to frequent clashes with fellow judges, producer Randy Jackson and singer Paula Abdul, which were the highlight of the show in its early stages, often eclipsing the feeble efforts of many of the contestants who felt the lash of his tongue.

Remarks such as: "There are only so many words I can draw out of my vocabulary to say how awful that was," have become catch phrases and led Ms Abdul to complain that he would "critique a suicide note''. Tensions between the judges at one point threatened to erupt into violence, with Jackson leaping to his feet shouting: "You can't call people losers!" and Cowell smugly insisting: "I can call them whatever I like.''

In the end, Cowell was seen wiping away a tear as the result was announced. He is not the only Briton to profit from the series. The format's creator, Spice Girls inventor Simon Fuller, is also looking forward to a massive payday. He can expect to generate between £20million and £30million from record sales, royalties and the sale of the format.

"American Idol has been a massive event that has captured the whole of America," said Fuller, who has been invited to meet President Bush next week. "It's incredibly satisfying to have that kind of impact with a British show in a country that is the home of TV."

The top 10 contestants will release an album on Cowell's label followed by a coast-to-coast tour this autumn.

Over 100 million votes were cast in the three months of the talent contest, which was attracting nearly 20 million viewers a night in the final weeks. The show is one of the most successful in the cutthroat world of US TV, watched by almost a third of the population under 30.

American tabloid newspapers and magazines have seized on the contest as a welcome change from a summer dominated by rumours of war with Iraq and the plummeting stock market.