Simon Cowell has told The Sun that he bonded immediately with Cheryl Cole when she joined the X factor panel last year, but he added that Dannii Minogue also commands a lot of his respect.

When talking about Cheryl Simon told The Sun: “We instantly became friends — we really, really got on well.

“Cheryl likes hanging out with me in the dressing rooms.”

When asked if he intentionally left Dannii out last year, Simon said: “She kind of got lost a little bit along the way, but I think she does a good job, I really do.

“There was a lot of focus on Cheryl but Dannii works harder than all of us. She’s so obsessive about winning and I like that.”