Cowell says fallout with Cheryl ‘a nightmare’

TV mogul Simon Cowell has described his fallout with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini as a "nightmare" and admitted that "there was something not quite right" about US X Factor.

The duo’s friendship came to an abrupt end when Cowell, 54, fired the singer from the US show just weeks into her high-profile job.

Cowell said that the judge, 31, who had “put on a bit of weight” and whose confidence had plummeted following the end of her marriage to Ashley Cole, had become unrecognisable.

He told Radio Times magazine: “My falling out with Cheryl came soon after her divorce and was a nightmare. We were all wound up.

“There was so much expectation on the show in America and I definitely wasn’t myself. I was uptight.”

He said of the former Girls Aloud star’s appearance, complete with big hair, purple trousers and an orange frilly top on the first day filming the US show: “When I saw her, I didn’t recognise her. Literally. The hair and outfit were crazy. Just totally crazy.

“I asked her manager, ‘What’s she wearing, what’s happened to her hair?’ He was defensive about it. I haven’t a clue why she turned up like that.”

He added: “She’d put on a bit of weight, but not loads. That wasn’t the issue. The only way I can describe it is that it wasn’t Cheryl sitting in that seat. She’d lost her confidence.”

The US X Factor ended after three series and falling ratings.

“If I could go back in time I would have kept her on the show. It was stupid doing what I did. I didn’t sack her personally. That was the second-biggest mistake I made. When you’re under pressure you make stupid mistakes,” he said.

Fernandez-Versini said of her sacking: “In hindsight he was right because I wasn’t myself.”