Cardle: Cowell's got the X Factor

Matt Cardle has revealed he would like to see Simon Cowell return to The X Factor.

Simon left his seat as head judge on the ITV1 show after Matt's victory in the seventh season in 2010, and was later replaced by Gary Barlow.

The singer said: "It is so different without him, it was his show. Personally I preferred him being on it, but I know other people prefer it the other way."

Matt, whose new album The Fire and single It's Only Love are both out on October 29, still watches the programme that made him famous.

He gave a thumbs-up to the new judges, which include Tulisa Contostavlos and Nicole Scherzinger, adding: "They are good, but it's always going to be hard for them. Simon, Dannii [Minogue] and Louis [Walsh] had four years to get settled."

Matt, who was mentored on the show by Dannii, said she would help him calm his nerves before performing with shots.

"I was c****ing myself every weekend [before performing]. Dannii may have helped me out with the odd shot of whisky," he recalled.

He revealed he is still in contact with the Australian judge and fellow contestants One Direction: "I hear from her regularly, whenever she is over here. We met up a few weeks ago for lunch. I keep in touch with One Direction and Aiden Grimshaw is a good friend of mine."