Simon Cowell at The Health Lottery Tea Party
Simon Cowell has chosen a "girl" as the fourth and final X Factor UK 2014 judge.
The music mogul has made his final decision on who will join him, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole on the panel and although he is remaining tight-lipped on the name he has confirmed it will be a woman.
Speaking at The Health Lottery Champagne Tea Party at The Savoy Hotel in London on Monday afternoon (02.06.14), he said: "We've settled on someone and we're going to make an announcement this week. I can't say who yet but we've decided - it's going to be a girl. I'm not going to say anything else, the contract's not signed yet!"
Simon - who is returning as a judge after a three-year hiatus - admitted the decision took a long time because he needed to be sure the star would be able to totally commit to the ITV series and the acts.
He added: "The hardest thing was not just finding a name but someone who is going to do the job. They have to really commit to working with the artists and they've got to give up a lot of their time and that's why it was a long decision."
Simon, 54, also insists that Louis and Cheryl are going to have to get on, despite there well documented differences in the past.
He said: "Look, they don't get on great but they're just going to have to now. They'll be OK."
When asked by BANG Showbiz who he would have picked if he'd had to make a straight choice between the two, he laughed: "I'm not answering that!"
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