Members of Girls Aloud and Spice Girls have been approached about judging the next series of X-Factor, according to former judge Sharon Osbourne.

Osbourne said that Spice Girl Mel B and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole had both been asked to inherit her position since she announced her departure last week.

Speaking on BBC Radio 1, Osbourne said that she had “loved” working on the show, describing it as “the best four years of my life”.

Osbourne, who backed Cole to take over her place on the panel, denied that she had left the show over money.

"We were negotiating and they offered me an obscene amount of money. It didn't change anything. I had to walk away when I did,” she said.

Osbourne sat on the panel for four series alongside the shows creator Simon Cowell and fellow judges Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.

(by Jason Gregory)