Gary Barlow `cooks make-up dinner for X-Factor judges`

As head judge, the Take That star is said to have taken it upon himself to try to heal the rift between Kelly Rowland and Tulisa by hosting a get-together at his £4 million London mansion on Wednesday night.

According to The Mirror, Gary wanted the ladies to 'clear the air' after falling out over contestant Misha Bryan and bullying claims, so that they can focus on boosting the struggling show’s ratings.

“Gary thinks all the judges need to work harder and try to make the show’s themes mean something, as well as making their on-air rows sharper and more to the point,” a source said.

“He was critical of the other judges but in a controlled way. They all got problems off their chest. They know that on the show anything goes and they will row and fight for their acts. But they are doing lots of public events now to push the ratings, and the last thing they want is to be saying wildly different things about backstage rows and what is happening on the show.”