Louis Walsh has announced his decision to quit ‘The X Factor’ after what he called 13 “fantastic” years with the talent show.

The 65 year old pop mogul has been the show’s longest serving judge, appearing in all but one of the editions of ‘The X Factor’ since it began way back in 2004.

“I’ve had a fantastic 13 years on ‘The X Factor’ but the show needs a change and I'm ready to leave,” said Walsh in a statement. He added that he would remain a judge on another talent show, ‘Ireland's Got Talent’, as well as focussing more on “my day job as a manager, writing my memoirs and seeing the world.”

Louis WalshLouis Walsh has stepped down as a judge on 'The X Factor'

Walsh was a judge on every season of ‘The X Factor’ except the ill-fated 2015 edition, which saw record-low ratings and its winner, Louisa Johnson, underperform in the charts.

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Amelia Brown, managing director of the show’s producers Thames, said: “His contribution cannot be overstated. We would like to thank him for all he has given to the show over the years and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”

Simon Cowell, whose brainchild has been one of the most successful British television shows since the turn of the millennium, will be returning for the upcoming 15th series later this year, along with three new judges, whose identities haven’t been announced.

Additionally, Sharon Osbourne, previously a full-time judge on the show, is set to return in a limited capacity for the new 2018 series, appearing only in the live episodes and not the auditions.

“This is the start of a new era for ‘The X Factor’,” Brown’s statement continued. “I am really excited about all the ideas we have for the coming series including, of course, the new judging panel.”

More: Louis Walsh was “not impressed” by ‘The X Factor’s judging panel after he left [archive]