Last Updated: 18 Jul 2011

Have your say on Cheryl

Well, goodness, what a turn of events! After it was announced last week that Cheryl had been embarrassingly ditched as a judge on the US X Factor there was at least the concession for her that she could perhaps return to the UK version. But the chances of that happening now are zero.

There have been all kinds of rumours about why Chezza was fired so swiftly. The first excuse of course was that the Americans could not understand her accent. But come on now, the biggest show to hit America in years and the producers didn't do screen tests of Cheryl's accent on a US audience to see if they could understand?! They must have - there is no way they would sign her up without vigorous audience testing.

So then the next rumour was that the whole premise of her being hired was because of her undeniable chemistry with Simon and the fact that she stands up to him - something American audiences would have lapped up. But then... Paula Abdul apparently threw a hissy fit demanding that she be the one sat next to Simon, not Cheryl, and so the chemistry never really materialised.

Then there is perhaps the most cruel rumour of all - Cheryl's weight played a part. According to sources TV execs told Cheryl she was fat and that in order to stay on the panel she would have to lose two dress sizes. We all know Cheryl's a tiny girl and even with a little bit of weight gain she was still a comfortable size eight. It was not that long ago there were outcries about how skinny she had become following the Ahsley drama. Now that she's a healthy weight again yet is being called to fat for TV means she must feel as though she can't win.

A further slap in the face is that Cheryl is to be replaced on the panel by Nicole Scherzinger, a name that was rumoured to be in the mix as a judge all along. Sources close to Cheryl claim that she wasn't at all sure she even wanted the US job knowing the pressure and the scrutiny involved and had told Simon as much. But he apparently spent weeks cajoling her into it saying she would be a better fit on the panel than Nicole. To then be so publicly humiliated after recording only three shows has got to really hurt.

The latest on the debacle is that she is now not returning the calls of either Simon or the ITV bigwigs who wanted to discuss the UK X Factor with her. She's apparently gone into hiding as she is so hurt, mortified and feels utterly beatrayed.

Poor Cheryl - we knew a backlash was inevitable - unfortunately it is a cruel part of showbiz, but this is far more spectacular a fall from grace than we've witnessed in recent years.

So come on... tell us what you think about all this... Do you think she deserves it? Are you outraged that her weight was brought into question? Do you think Simon stabbed her in the back? Let rip...