Gary Barlow has admitted that he almost quit The X-Factor due to the pressures of the show.

The Take That star, who will be seen choosing his final three over 28s contestants at the Judges' Houses stage this weekend, told The Sun that he found his first year as a judge rather tough:

“I did come close to quitting, yeah. It was hard. When you become part of this machine, you’re on something that’s moving and you’ve got to try and stay on board. There’s no jumping off.

“There’s a lot of pressure – it really is massive. I remember last year – on Sunday nights in particular – if I knew one of them was in the bottom two, I’d feel so nervous.

“And you’d watch this spaceship swirling around knowing that millions of people are watching and it was out of your hands, and you’d just feel sorry for them.”

But the 41-year-old, who will be joined by Cheryl Cole for this weekend’s two shows, added that he’s determined to have a more enjoyable experience the second time round:

“I just want to have more fun this year – and I have done already. I was on tour while we were doing the auditions last year and it was bloody hard work.

“I always felt miserable when I arrived because I was knackered already. But this year I don’t feel like I’ve done anything yet! It’s been fun.”