Walsh expects 'X Factor' axe for Dannii

Louis Walsh has predicted that Dannii Minogue will be axed from X Factor to make way for the return of Sharon Osbourne.

Osbourne quit the ITV1 talent series in June after making salary demands which were later described as "unreasonable" by executive producer Richard Holloway. She was replaced by Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole.

Walsh has now told the Daily Star Sunday that he expects Sharon to "come back next year".

He added: "And obviously Dannii would be the one to go - having Sharon and Cheryl on the show together is too good an opportunity to miss. The thing about Sharon is she can't be controlled. At the moment Simon [Cowell] has three judges, who, let's face it, he controls. With Sharon we never knew what she was going to do next - she was so unpredictable."

Minogue was the most successful mentor on last year's series, with the final two contestants - Leon Jackson and Rhydian Roberts - both coming from her category.

However, Walsh warned: "She hasn't a hope in hell of winning this series and I think she's going to continue to have a rough time of it."