The 2011 tiff between Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell has become the stuff of legend. Cheryl has never minded expressing quite how she felt about the music mogul's surprise decision to remove her from the judging panel of the US version The X Factor before the season had even gotten underway. She has branded Simon a “coward, [who] didn’t have the guys to phone or sent a message warning me”, and we’ve got to admit, we’re with Cheryl on this one.

cheryl cole simon cowellCheryl has been happy to discuss how she feels about Simon Cowell

The whole thing really came as a shock to the system as Simon and Cheryl had seemed so close knit during their time together on The X Factor in the UK. Cheryl was replaced on the US show by Poison singer Nicole Scherzinger, who went on to become a member of judging panels in the US and the UK.

It’s not been a secret that Cheryl has been angry with Simon since his decision to axe her from the show.  She's coyly smiled through questions about how she feels over the situation, before really letting loose on her exact feelings regarding Simon.  But Cheryl is England's Sweetheart, and in the eyes of the public she really can do no wrong.

More: Is Cheryl Cole's return too late to save the X-Factor?

She hasn’t let The X Factor mishap stop her from working on her own career, and has had a busy couple of years despite her earlier setback. In June 2012 Cheryl released A Million Lights, which was her third studio album. A Million Lights peaked at number 2 in the UK charts, making it the first album she had released which didn’t go straight to number 1. Fortunately, the lead single off the album Call My Name did manage to make it to number 1, making it Cheryl’s third hit number one single.

Cheryl performed alongside Gary Barlow at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert (organised by Barlow) in 2012 and later that year helped Gary as a guest mentor on The X Factor, helping him choose his contestants. After starring in her own documentary Cheryl: Access All Areas it was confirmed that she would be rejoining her Girls Aloud bandmates for a reunion tour, celebrating their tenth anniversary (wow, has it really been ten years since Sound of the Underground?!  That makes us feel old!).

simon cowell cheryl coleSimon will also be an X Factor judge this year

In March 2013, after releasing a greatest hits compilation and finishing their tour the band announced that they would finally call it quits and confirmed an official split.

After the cancellation of The X Factor in the US, Simon clearly went into overdrive, thinking of ways that he could salvage the flagship show. A reconciliation with Cole would certainly draw in an audience, and we think that Simon clearly knows this.

Are you excited to watch this season of The X Factor?  Will you be tuning in to see Cheryl and Simon onscreen together?