Simon Cowell has given his thoughts on Cheryl's weight.

The singer, who is sitting alongside the Syco man on this year's X Factor panel, has come under fire recently for her apparently skinny frame.

The former Girls Aloud star responded by stating that she has been under stress from the death of her father-in-law.

Speaking to The Sun, Cowell said that Cheryl isn't someone who is going out of her way to be skinny.

He said: "This is not someone who’s trying to make herself thin. I think she did pick up a bug.

“And I think the way she’s approaching what was addressed about her weight in a very open way - by saying she is thin and is trying to put on weight - is great.

"I don’t think she would have done that two years ago."

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Watch Simon Cowell being interviewed below: