By Debbie McGoldrick

AMERICAN Idol meanie Simon Cowell is pretty good at making enemies in his native Britain too. Or, more likely, his latest brilliant marketing stunt involves Irish talent manager Louis Walsh he’s the guy who heaved Boyzone and Westlife upon the world and fellow Idol judge Randy Jackson.

It goes like this: Simon has a show at home called The X Factor, which is just like Idol. It’s a big hit, naturally, and in its past three successful seasons has followed the Idol recipe of having three judges Simon, Louis and Sharon Osbourne (remember her?)

Anyway, Simon said it was time to make a change for the upcoming season four, and Mayo native Louis got the push. He was none too pleased, and made a stink in the press about Simon being a two faced so and so . . . all of which generated big headlines for all involved.

The latest? Simon says he’s now sorry for not delivering the bad news to Louis himself, but not sorry enough to push for his slot back on the show. Instead, the plan is to import Idol’s Jackson from Hollywood to London, and the Dawg is all for it.

“I should have called Louis he has every reason to believe he’s been stabbed in the back,” said Simon in doling out his version of humble pie.

“At some stage we are going to have a conversation and I’ll see how he feels. But he’s got to get off his chest what he wants to get off his chest he thinks I stabbed him in the back.” Now, what could possibly have made the 54-year-old Walsh think that?

Randy sure is happy for the new summertime gig. “I’d love to do it. I can’t wait to come to London. It will be a fantastic opportunity. I love working with Simon Cowell. We’re great friends,” he was quoted as saying in Monday’s Sun newspaper.

And what of poor Louis? Will he slink back to finding more awful “talent” to groom for superstardom? (You gotta hand it to him; though Boyzone and Westlife will never rank up there with the Beatles and the Stones, their records sell a ton everywhere bar the U.S. . . . thank God!)

As it turns out, Louis is on the brink of landing himself a new TV gig on some BBC reality show called Any Dream Will Do. The winner gets to play the lead in a new version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, presumably in London.

“(Louis) was really hurt by the way Simon dropped him without even speaking to him directly,” said a “source.”

“The BBC moved fast to ask if he’d like to help out. The fact that he’ll be going up against Cowell’s show makes it even sweeter.”

Yes, Dream will be pitted against yet another Cowell creation called Grease Is the Word. More headlines, more ratings, more dosh . . . think these guys lifted a page from pro wrestling and planned this feud?