Joan Collins: 'Cheryl Cole got bad deal on X Factor'

Joan Collins has declared that she thinks it is unfair that Cheryl Cole has allegedly been axed from The X Factor USA because of her Newcastle accent.

The British actress said that she wasn't understood when she first moved to America and can empathise with the 27-year-old.

Collins told Now: "I feel sad for her as I went to Hollywood when I was 21 and they didn't understand me.

"They gave me lessons and I got an American accent - now I'm in between. Cheryl got a bad deal as they knew she talked like that before."

Cole has previously insisted that she would "never" change her accent, stating: "It's part of who I am."

However, according to sources, the popstar's thick Geordie accent ultimately worked against her.

The insider commented: "When they started shooting in Chicago the contestants had
trouble understanding her and that threw the bosses into a panic.

"They had to re-shoot a few auditions because of it. Cheryl was embarrassed and apologised several times, but it quickly became a big issue - especially because no-one had any problems with Steve Jones's Welsh twang."