Last year, the singer branded the judges “f*cking useless” on the eve of his performance on the reality show, which led the pair to give him a frosty reception.

In a new interview, Kay said he wasn't bothered about Cole and Minogue's refusal to applaud him, and also hit out at the Girls Aloud star for not singing live.

"Because that will really devastate me,” he told the Daily Mail. “'If we don't clap we'll make him feel so bad he'll never want to work again.'”

Referring to Cole's lip-synched performance of 'Promise This', Kay said: “If you're the mentor you should not mime on the show."

Kay also went on to describe The X Factor as a "TV celebrity show" rather than a singing contest.

(by Jason Gregory)