[Spike]

Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole have shocked X Factor bosses with a furious backstage feud, according to a report today.

The News of the World claims that the judges have been clashing off-camera since Cole joined the show as a replacement for Sharon Osbourne last month.

"Those girls absolutely hate each other," an insider told the newspaper. "Of course, they're both professionals during filming but when the cameras stop rolling it's clear they have a big problem with one another.

"There's been a lot of aggro. We've heard plenty of snide comments backstage and the cameras have picked up the fact there's obviously a lot of needle there.

"Simon [Cowell] has tried to intervene but there's nothing he can do about it. He and Cheryl get on like a house on fire. He thinks she'll be a huge star and a big hit with viewers. The pair of them are great friends. And Dannii doesn't like it one bit."

Dannii and Cheryl had exchanged insults in the press long before they started working together. The battle began when Cole claimed that men do not find Minogue attractive, advising her to "get all her plastic surgery reduced".

Minogue later branded Cheryl's band Girls Aloud the "bitchiest" group in pop. She complained: "They say vile stuff about me in every interview."

DS