Former X Factor judge brands show ‘b****y’ and insists ‘it’s amazing that I survived’
DANNII Minogue has branded The X Factor ‘b****y’ and insists it was “amazing that I survived”.
The Australian singer and TV star was a judge on the UK version of The X Factor from 2007 to 2010 across four series.
Dannii, 51, sat alongside show creator Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne on her first season before Sharon was replaced by Girls Aloud singer, Cheryl.
Speaking about her time on the programme, Dannii said: “Whether you were a judge or a contestant, it felt like being in a tumble dryer.
“I don’t know how any contestant could walk away from the show and go: ‘It was easy.’ You didn’t come in here for it to be easy. It was like: we’re gonna make sure you improve every week.”
She continued to The Guardian: “[It was] the most intense time of television, of celebrity, in the UK.”
This was partly why she decided to walk away in 2010, admitting it was a “ballsy move” as the show continued to draw in big numbers.
However, she felt the mood had shifted on the show, saying: “I was feeling like it was getting very bitchy, very catty.
“I said: ‘That’s fine. If people want to watch it and if you want to make that, that’s fine. It’s just enough for me.’”
Throughout her time on the show, Dannii was dogged by reports she was ‘feuding’ with Sharon or Cheryl.
Sadly it was something she was resigned to, having had to deal with being compared to older sister and fellow singer Kylie all her life.
Dannii said: “Comparisons with my sister, a lot about my weight and making feuds supposedly between me and my sister – they were the most heartbreaking stuff. It’s amazing that I survived.”
Dannii hosts new dating show, I Kissed A Boy, which begins on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on May 14.