Dannii Minogue voted best X Factor judge of all time

Minogue topped a global RadioTimes.com poll of over 4,300 people, which saw Cowell rank second with 16.5 per cent and Sharon Osbourne round off the top three with 14.1 per cent.

Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger, who will judge alongside Cowell on the upcoming X Factor: Celebrity, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

“Oh my God! That is so awesome and so surprising,” Minogue said of her new title. “A lot has happened on the show since I’ve been there. So many years have passed, but it’s incredible. I’m chuffed.”

Asked how Cowell might feel about missing the top spot, she added: “Probably not happy at all! As he’s been on it basically every year he would want to be the winner!”

Minogue was the first ever female judge to win The X Factor, and achieved the feat during her first stint on the panel in 2007 with Leon Jackson.

She took part in four series before calling it quits in 2010, and credits the show with opening her up to becoming a mother. She gave birth to son Ethan with her then partner, ex-professional rugby league player Kris Smith, in 2010.

“Mentoring kind of just really opened up this side of me,” she said. “I loved working with these teens and putting the time in and seeing how they evolve.

“It was before I had Ethan and I felt really maternal, and I’d never had that feeling before. And I think that opened me up to thinking, actually, I think I could be a mum, and that I want to do that. It snowballed into the greatest life experience ever."

Ranking

1. Dannii Minogue
2. Simon Cowell
3. Sharon Osbourne
4. Louis Walsh
5. Nicole Scherzinger
6. Cheryl
7. Louis Tomlinson
8. Gary Barlow
9. Tulisa
10. Rita Ora
11. Robbie Williams
12. Mel B
13. Kelly Rowland
14. Nick Grimshaw
15. Ayda Field

The X Factor: Celebrity is on ITV, Saturday at 8:35pm