Cheryl Cole has signed a deal to return as a judge on The X Factor for a reported £1.5 million, it has been revealed.

X Factor creator Simon Cowell unveiled the former Girls Aloud singer's return on Twitter, telling his 9.5 million followers: "It's official. Cheryl is back."

Minutes later he added another post saying: "Most importantly she is a brilliant judge of talent."

Cole took to her Instagram account to tell her fans about her return to the flagship talent show.

Posting a jokey picture of herself pretending to throttle Cowell, she wrote: "GUESS WHAT!! I'm baaaacccckkkkk!!!!#iMayActuallyRingHisNeck #XFactor2014 #leggooo."

Veteran judge Louis Walsh tweeted: "@SimonCowell: it's official. Cheryl is back. oh no! @TheXFactor."

Cole left the judging panel of the British show in 2011 to host the US version, but was unceremoniously dropped from the programme state-side weeks after beginning the show amid claims Americans could not understand her Newcastle accent.

The singer, 30, fell out with Cowell following the decision, but the pair are believed to have patched things up.

Cowell has also announced he will return to the British version of The X Factor for the first time in four years in a bid to boost ratings.