Nicole Scherzinger (Getty Images)

Featured player Paul Brittain is leaving the cast of Saturday Night Live effective immediately, Entertainment Weekly reports. Mr. Brittain will be most fondly remembered for his inept sex-ed tutor character; sources told EW that the parting was “amicable.”

Last night, another show shed some weight as well–Idol rival The X-Factor, which struggled in its stated mission to dominate the ratings, cast off its host, Steve Jones, and one judge, Nicole Scherzinger, who had herself been cast as a co-host before a shake-up last year placed her in the judge’s seat. Reports indicate that Ms. Scherzinger’s fellow judge Paula Abdul may also have been fired. We’d suggest Paul Brittain as a fill-in host next season, but he apparently left Saturday Night Live for nebulous “other projects,” so we’ll leave him to it!