[Callum]

Less than three weeks after Simon Cowell’s secret relationship with Dannii Minogue was revealed, he has asked her to take her old job back as an X Factor judge.

Dannii is now weighing up returning to the show where the unlikely couple began a heated relationship four years ago.

Crucially, ITV and the show’s producers say Dannii will be able to combine the job with her existing role on Australia’s Got Talent. She’s also expected to receive an increase on her £700,000 deal from 2010.

My show source reveals: ‘Dannii has a formal offer from ITV, Thames, and Cowell’s company Syco. The ball is well and truly in her court. We hope she’ll return and think it will be the best thing for the show.’

Industry cynics say Cowell wants to prove the pair get on, despite Dannii’s fury that their former relationship went public. An insider told me: ‘Simon didn’t want Dannii back until the book came out. Then he realised what a publicity coup it would be.’

But sources close to Cowell stress he has ‘always stayed friendly’ with Dannii and they still speak on the phone.

If Dannii turns the deal down, Cowell is said to favour Marina Lambrini Diamandis, lead singer of pop band Marina and the Diamonds. Former N-Dubz star Tulisa will re-sign within days, joining Louis Walsh and Gary Barlow.

Would love this to be true, I think she'd be a brilliant judge. It would be great exposure for her, too.