Gary Barlow has described Cheryl Cole’s guest appearance at the Judges’ Houses stage of The X-Factor as 'a bit like having royalty.'

The 41-year-old, who was joined by the Girls Aloud star when selecting his final three for his Over-28s category, told The Telegraph that the decision to invite her to briefly return to the show was a no-brainer:

"I wanted her to do the Jubilee with me, and that really went well, and then a few weeks later I thought, it's probably going to be a no, but I'll ask anyway, and she came back saying, "I'm not bothered about the show, but if you want me to do it, I'll do it for you."

“I think the contestants really enjoyed it being her, because she's very fair and works a lot on her gut instinct. It was a bit like having royalty, even all the crew were going, 'Ooh, I can't believe we've got Cheryl.'"

The Take That singer, who will introduce his chosen acts on the series’ first live show tonight, also added that he has a good relationship with the rest of the judging panel:

'We don't all sit in a room and go, "Right, how do we entertain everyone tonight?" I think it's a show designed to make you competitive. It's tremendous fun, but it's also a bit of a game, as long as [that] doesn't come at the cost of the artists.

“If you're playing a game which gets a really good act eliminated, that's where I draw my line. And knowing all [of the judges], I don't believe any one would take that route. I hope not, anyway.”