Simon Cowell has said he would hire Cheryl Cole again “in a heartbeat” – despite axing her from the US X Factor.
The music and TV mogul said he dropped the Girls Aloud star as a judge because she appeared less comfortable than she did on the UK version.
But he told The Hollywood Reporter he would not hesitate to offer her a role on another of his TV projects.
Mr Cowell also revealed that Ms Cole had been given a chance to return to the UK judging panel, but this had been snubbed.
He defended his decision to replace her with Nicole Scherzinger in the US show, saying: “You’re not drowning puppies here. You’re offering someone who’s got millions of dollars more money and more work.
“And if people think that’s cruel, then they can do that to me on a daily basis. I’ll take it twice a day.”
The 51-year-old - dubbed TV’s Mr Nasty – compared Ms Cole’s popularity in the UK to that of Diana, Princess of Wales, but said she had not established a high enough profile in the US.
He said: “I came to the conclusion that she may not be as comfortable here because I was seeing a different person.
“She was like Princess Diana when she would walk out in England, and I accepted the fact that people didn’t know her here, but I think it did have an effect on her.
“I said ‘Cheryl, you’ve got to raise your game a bit. This is America, it’s a much tougher market’.”
Mr Cowell said negotiations to bring Ms Cole back to British TV had fallen apart and they had not spoken since.
He said: “We had gotten to the point where she wanted my dressing room. It was decided: She’d come back on Wednesday and we wouldn’t tell the media. Then it leaked and got unpleasant.
“She missed the deadline which meant she’d lost the UK show.
“I asked (her manager) Will.i.am ‘How does she feel about it?’ He said ‘It’s none of your concern’.
“Then I got nervous. I called back to tell him ‘If she wants to come back, she’s got the gig. But if I don’t hear from her by Sunday, the deal’s off.’
“I never heard from her... I think her silence was quite damning.”