Kian Egan has revealed that he would love to be an X-Factor judge but that he wouldn’t want to replace Louis Walsh.

The former Westlife singer, who is currently a mentor on The Voice Ireland, told The Sun that he’d like nothing more than a permanent role on the talent show:

“Being on The X Factor judging panel would be an amazing gig and something I would thoroughly enjoy. I would hate to replace Louis Walsh. That would never be my intention.

“It’s an amazing TV show and a great one to be a part of. I certainly feel that since The X Factor started I’ve been around it and in it an awful lot.

“I did the judges homes with Louis, presented The Xtra Factor a few times and this will be the first series of the main X Factor show that Westlife don’t perform on. We really have had an amazing time on The X Factor over the years so it would be great for that to continue.”

The 32-year-old also revealed which contestants from this year’s series he’s been getting behind:

“James is definitely outstanding. I think he’s probably one of the most unique artists that’s been on so far and I really think he deserves to win the show. He’s a young, cool, contemporary artist — probably the most contemporary that they have had for a long time, so it’d be good to see him win it.

“There are some other good people on there. I think Ella Henderson started off very strong and Rylan’s brilliant.”