Gary Barlow, N-Dubz' Tulisa, Kelly Rowland Confirmed As X Factor UK Judges

Gary Barlow, N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos, Kelly Rowland and Louis Walsh have been confirmed as the judges for this year's UK edition of The X Factor.

The line-up suggests that Cheryl Cole will not return on the UK version after being sacked from the US edition last week, before the programme had even aired.

Take That's Barlow, Tulisa and former Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland are all new additions to the judging panel.

Simon Cowell said: "These four are totally up for it, each of them bring a different attitude. They have had a ton of hits between them and they are all committed to finding a star.

“I have a feeling Louis and Tulisa will have slightly different points of view as to what the next star should look and sound like!"

Barlow said: "I'm extremely excited about working on The X Factor. I've always been a fan of the show and always enjoyed performing on it too. My one goal is to find a global super star. If I don't find one I won't have done my job."
 
Contostavlos added that she was “hoping to find some hot new talent and mentor a winning category”.

The auditions for this year's X Factor begin in Birmingham on June 1, before continuing to Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, London and Liverpool.

The series will begin on ITV1 later in the summer.