Cheryl Cole refuses to sign X Factor

Cheryl Cole is said to have refused to sign her new 1million pounds X Factor contract until she knows who will replace co-judge Dannii Minogue.

Cole, 26, also wants a promise that her pregnant pal Minogue will not be permanently replaced. Minogue, 38, will miss out on the auditions stage when it starts next month, and producers plan to have guest judges to fill in for her alongside 50-year-old Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, 57.

“It’s getting very close to the start of The X Factor auditions and Cheryl has not yet signed on the dotted line,” the Daily Star quoted a show source as saying.

“It would ruin her X Factor experience not to have another ‘girly girl’ like Dannii to laugh and joke with and gang up with against the lads. There’s been talk about Mel B whom Cheryl is quite frightened of. She is also mindful of the fact any youngsters may try to upstage her in the fashion stakes,” the source added.

All the judges are set for a showdown meeting at Cowell’s London mansion next week, and Minogue, who is back in Australia and due to give birth in July, will join them via a conference call. The new series of The X Factor is scheduled for August.