It would seem as though Dannii Minogue really was ITV’s last resort when it came to filling the final X Factor judging position, but after she turned down the reported £10million deal last week, the hugely popular singing talent show has been forced to draft in a series of stand in judges to get the show through its audition stages, which begin this week!

So far the names circulating with regards to these temporary positions are Robbie Williams, Gwen Stefani, Tinie Tempah, Alicia Keys and Geri Halliwell, with no hint as to who the final position will go to by the time the acts have been selected for the next stages of the competition.

Auditions for this  years X Factor start on Wednesday, which hasn’t left much time for bosses to plan a schedule that fits around their stand in judges (they must have really thought Dannii was going to accept), with Robbie Williams only being able to be pencilled in for one show along side his Take That band mate, Gary Barlow, due to only being in the UK for one week whilst Soccer Aid is taking place next week!

Bosses are so worried that they may not have filled the current vacant position by the boot camp stage that even Rod Stewart is being considered being put on stand by!

Dannii reportedly turned down the job over money, as well as her fury over her alleged affair with X Factor puppet master, Simon Cowell, being revealed in his recent unauthorised Tom Bowers biography (that incidentally he turned up to sign copies of at the release).

First to take the hot seat when the auditions start is ex Spice Girl, Gerri Haliwell, who helped out in similar circumstances two years ago when then judge Dannii Minogue was on maternity leave and Cheryl Cole had malaria, but didn’t go down to well with the public, or fellow judges!

An insider said: “If Geri Haliwell was really suitable, they’d have signed her permanently. Really this is a shambles.

“The X Factor is supposed to be the biggest show on British television and it should have been sorted months ago.”

At one point during Halliwell’s 2010 appearance on the show she was booed by the audience in the studio, whilst fans at home labelled her “awful” with some even saying that she  “isn’t making sense”.

After a diva style tantrum, Halliwell even stormed off the stage at one point, which caused one fan to post online:   “Geri was awful. After one audition she left the judges table before being followed by Simon.

“Cheryl and Louis looked bemused while the warm up guy announced that we were having an early break.

“It wasn’t until a few auditions in she really started to irritate. She also gave irrelevant comments.”

Despite all this show bosses are insisting that Geri would be an excellent and well received replacement until a full-time judge can be found

One senior production source said: “Geri certainly isn’t afraid to speak her mind and that’s exactly what the show needs.

“She was in the Spice Girls, one of the biggest bands in pop history, so she knows exactly what it takes to succeed in this industry.

“She’s a tough cookie and has dealt with everything the music business has thrown at her, so she’s well qualified to spot contestants who have the talent and the personality to make it.

“It will be interesting to see what she makes of the talent in Liverpool – and no doubt her feisty personality will make for some brilliant television.”

Watch some of Geri’s X Factor moments from 2010 in the clip below: