Simon Cowell praises Cole, Minogue

Simon Cowell has spoken of his friendship with Cheryl Cole and his appreciation of Dannii Minogue's hard work.

The X Factor boss told The Sun that he and Cole immediately hit it off when the Girls Aloud singer joined the judging panel last year.

Cowell said: "We instantly became friends - we really, really got on well. Cheryl likes hanging out with me in the dressing rooms.

"[Dannii] likes to keep more to herself. She kind of got lost a little bit along the way, but I think she does a good job, I really do."

He added: "There was a lot of focus on Cheryl but Dannii works harder than all of us. She's so obsessive about winning and I like that."

Cowell recently predicted that both Cole and Minogue will rejoin the show when it returns to ITV later this year.