Simon Cowell has all but confirmedCheryl Colewill join the judging panel for The X Factor USAin a new interview with Deadline.

When asked about the danger of US audiences not warming to Cheryl, a relative unknown across the pond, Simon wasn’t concerned. "I never think about it as an American or British audience. I genuinely don’t… With Cheryl, when I hired her initially, I'd only met her literally once when I offered her the job on X Factor. I thought she was bright, cute, knew what she was talking about, ambitious.

“And you meet someone special a few times in your life… And this girl is special. She's just got a great ability to communicate. She’s a great judge. She's smart. It's just a hunch. If people take to her like the British public did, I think she's going to do really well in America."

He added that Fox, who will broadcast The X Factor USA, love the Geordie as much as he does. “Fox was desperate to hire her,” Simon insisted. “They absolutely fell in love with her. In a way, the deal, it was almost conditional on Cheryl having the gig. They were desperate for her.”

It is looking increasingly likely that the fourth judge, along with record exec Paula Abdul, who Simon became close to when they judged American Idoltogether. "I've always wanted Paula. Always been very vocal about that. I missed her the second she left [Idol]… I've never found anyone better than her.

“I think there's a good chance it will be her,” Simon continued. “We've agreed that we would meet as many people as possible, and now we're reaching the deadline we've got to make the decision soon. But I think she's got a really good shot.”