Alexandra Burke has admitted she was surprised that Cheryl Cole tweeted her this week after the pair hadn't spoken to each other for over a year.

The 23-year-old, who was mentored by the Girls Aloud star during her triumphant 2008 X-Factor run, told the Daily Star that the message came from out of the blue:

“I haven’t heard anything from Cheryl for over a year and then she tweeted me publically the other day, which I was really surprised about. I’ve texted her a few times but never heard anything back, so I was surprised to hear from her on twitter, which was very public.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was great for her to get in touch and it was a very lovely message. But I would prefer to hear from her more privately and maybe go for a drink and catch-up properly.”

Burke, who is set to chart inside the Top 5 later today with her comeback single, ‘Elephant,’ became close friends with Cole during the fifth series of the talent show, but revealed things began to change following her victory:

“We kept in contact after the show but then it just stopped. You just don’t know what is going on in other peoples’ lives so you can’t get mad if someone doesn’t text you back.

“All you can do is simply pray that they are happy and that’s what I do for Cheryl. But of course it doesn’t mean that I don’t miss her. I miss her very much.”