Heidi Klum has been offering advice to her 'America's Got Talent' co-star Sofia Vergara.

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum

The two stars will both be joining the judging panel for the upcoming series of the NBC talent competition, and whilst Heidi previously sat on the panel between 2013 and 2018, Sofia is a brand new addition to the team.

And to help ease her into the job, the 46-year-old model says she's been giving the 'Modern Family' actress some helpful tips on how to judge the acts.

Heidi explained: "She was nervous coming in, obviously, because when you do something I guess for such a long time. She said [to me], 'It's like I'm the new kid in the school.'

"I said, 'But you have all great classmates. We all love you and there's nothing you can do wrong here. Just speak your truth. Whatever you see, don't hold back. Give them criticism on things that you see that needs to be criticised. If you loved everything, tell them that. Just speak from the heart and then nothing can go wrong.' I'm like, 'It must be so amazing to not have to memorise anything for a change.' "

Fellow judge Howie Mandel praised Sofia, 47, for settling into her new role quickly, and said she's already bickering with head judge and show creator Simon Cowell.

Howie, 64, said: "Within the first couple of days or the first day of taping, she was already calling out Simon. They didn't agree on something, but this is your first day and that's your boss! She didn't care. She's so honest and so great and she's just electricity, this beautiful, vibrant, electric, human being."

And although they might not always see eye to eye, 60-year-old Simon praised the actress for her work ethic.

Speaking to Us Weekly magazine, he said: "I met Sofia three or four years ago and we really hit it off and we ended the meeting with, 'Let's agree that one day we'll work on something together.' That's how well we got along. So when I heard Sofia's name was in the mix, I was so excited. But I didn't want to jinx it, so I never told anyone.

"I called her and I said, 'How are you feeling?' She said, 'I'm excited. I'm nervous.' I went, 'Perfect!' It's a little bit like when Terry [Crews] joined. When we first met, within five minutes we just clicked. It felt like we've been working together all our lives and we've become close friends through this whole process, and I think Sofia was a similar kind of vibe. She just gets what the show's all about."

Tagged in