Cheryl Cole will return as a judge on the UK version of 'The X Factor' after landing a new deal.
The Daily Mirror reports that Simon Cowell arranged a secret big-money contract for the Girls Aloud star after failing to secure her a role on the US version of the reality show.
A source told the paper: "Cheryl is thrilled about the new deal. She thought her days on the UK 'X Factor' were behind her but the money is too good to refuse.
"This is Simon's way of making it up to Cheryl for not landing her the US 'X Factor' gig.
"She was convinced Simon had pulled all the strings to get her on the judging panel but it's been a disaster. Now Cheryl will make twice the money she was on last year."
They added: "Simon has told her he's going to look after her and he has a lot of surprises in store for this year's show. He's going to shake things up dramatically and make some big changes.
"He wants the new format to be much edgier and Cheryl will play a major role in that.
"She's going to be returning with a bang and with Simon no longer appearing on the show he's banking on Cheryl to stir things up."
It had been claimed that network bosses were hesitant about signing Cole over concerns that she is not famous enough in the US and that her accent would cause problems.
