Kate Thornton's TV return CONFIRMED 18 years after Simon Cowell brutally axed her from X Factor

Kate Thornton is making her return to TV with a new royal show - 12 years after her last hosting gig.

The 51-year-old TV presenter is best known for being the original host of The X Factor but she was controversially replaced by Dermot O'Leary after the third series in 2006 with her reason for being axed not being clear.

She then went onto appear as a presenter on This Morning and Lorraine after this, and in recent years, has been a host on BBC Radio 2 and Greatest Hits Radio.

Now, Kate is returning to TV screens with her new show The Royal Beat with Kate Thornton, which will see her talk to royal experts about the current issues surrounding the monarchy.

The series will run for 10 episodes and the hour-long episodes will see Kate will talk to all those in the know about the Royal Family.

She said in a statement: "I'm thrilled to be bringing The Royal Beat to ITV and ITVX at a time of incredible change for our Monarchy."

"On every episode, we'll be joined by those that work closest with the royal family to bring you genuine insight on the work they do and explore what really happens behind closed doors in the House of Windsor."

She added: "I think viewers will come away with a deeper understanding of the family and the machine that sits behind it to better understand why the Royals mean so much to us as a nation."

Kate previously admitted that being sacked from The X Factor by music mogul Simon Cowell was really humiliating and it hurt her.

Appearing on the In The Pink podcast with Natalie Pinkham, she said: "It hurt more that somebody that I considered to be a friend hadn't been up front with me."

"It was very public. It was on the News at Ten. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating and it kind of burnt for a bit. Then you process it, and you go 'I'm not letting this define me'."

Earlier this year, Kate also said that during her stint on the show, she said a television executive asked the star to lose weight and even offered to pay for her to go to a weight loss retreat.

At that point, she was a size eight. She went on to claim the executive - who she did not name - also proposed she should 'bleach' her freckles as they were 'quite annoying. Kate refused the person's request due to being a 'recovering anorexic'.

Speaking to Emily Dean on the Walking the Dog podcast, she said: "I was a size eight at the time. "They offered me an all-expenses paid [trip] to a retreat where I could go and lose weight - and possibly get my freckles bleached because they were, 'Quite annoying on camera'."

The star, who said she is 'proud of the way she represented herself' in the situation, told the executive to 'go and f*** themselves' and rejected his suggestion. She continued: "I'm a recovered anorexic. You wouldn't tell an alcoholic to go and have a drink so they're more fun with a pint inside them. It's the same and it's wrong."

Kate added: "When I say I'm proud of the way I represented myself, that's why I'm proud of myself It alienated me and it made me an easy target but it also made me, with my shoulders back, someone I could look in the eye and be proud of and that was more important."

The Royal Beat with Kate Thornton is coming to ITV and ITVX in October.

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