Northern accent cost Cheryl Cole her X Factor role
Cheryl Cole, the Newcastle born singer/model, has been reportedly ditched from the American version of the X Factor over producers concerns that her Geordie accent was proving incomprehensible to US viewers.
Celebrity news website TMZ.com quoted anonymous sources who claim that Fox Television overruled Simon Cowell, who is a big fan of Cole, to remove the British celeb from the panel.
The star is a household name in the UK but completely unknown in America and had been championed by Cowell.
US Weekly quoted an unnamed friend of Cole: "it's true. She isn't on the show anymore. Everyone is gobsmacked. This came out of nowhere. She had already been tested countless times. Simon had nothing to do with it. This is the network's doing."
Cole was appointed to the panel just three weeks ago and will now be replaced by former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Sherzinger.