Tulisa 'chav' comment a joke: Walsh

Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos showed they were still friends despite his suggestion that she was a "chav", as they cosied up at the launch of the new series.

The pair were joined by fellow judge Nicole Scherzinger and show host Dermot O'Leary as they posed in London ahead of the four-month talent search returning to screens on Saturday.

In an interview earlier this week, Louis referred to fellow judge Tulisa as "a chav in a tracksuit".

But arriving at the Corinthia Hotel for the official launch of the ITV1 show, he clarified that his remarks were intended to be light-hearted.

"It was a joke but she is a little bit in a good way. We always have fun, it wasn't meant in a bad way. We're really good friends but I like to tell it like it is," he said.

Tulisa arrived at the event wearing a grey and yellow hooped bodycon minidress coupled with silver heels, while Nicole chose an elegant cap-sleeved, below-the-knee dress in white with matching stilettos.

Also attending were Sinitta, last year's winners Little Mix and Xtra Factor host Caroline Flack.

Louis promised viewers they would like the line-up of finalists as he already knew who would be making it through.

"There's all sorts of people this year. I know who the final 12 will be and there's someone for everybody."