X Factor judges, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh have criticised Britney Spears comeback appearance on the MTV awards this week and agreed that she would never make it to the finals of the X Factor.

Cowell told The Sun newspaper: “If I had been looking after Britney I’d have taken one look at her in rehearsals and I wouldn’t have allowed her on stage.

“It would have been worth pulling her off the bill – no matter what the cost – to save any chance she had of resurrecting her career. She wasn’t ready for that show in every possible way.”

The Britain’s Got Talent judge added: “The song wasn’t right, the image wasn’t right and she just wasn’t rehearsed. If she had turned up and given that performance at the X Factor auditions then I wouldn’t have put her through to the next round.

“The problem she has now is that she could have killed her career. It’s difficult to come back from that performance, for a while at least.”

Fellow X Factor judge, Louis Walsh agreed, commenting: “Britney wouldn’t make it through one audition of X Factor because she can’t sing live.”