Simon Cowell criticises fellow judge’s maternity leave comments

Simon Cowell has criticised Cheryl Fernandez-Versini for saying that she would consider taking a career break to have children.

When asked how he felt about Cheryl’s admission that it would be too difficult to have children and be on The X Factor at the same time, Simon replied: “Well, I had one.”

When the 55-year-old, who has a nine-month-old son, Eric, with fiancée Lauren Silverman, was pressed as to whether Cheryl would be returning to the X Factor fold next year, he said: “It’s too early to say… I like to let people finish the show, relax over the New Year and then see how they feel. So I wouldn’t ask Cheryl the question this year.”

Cheryl recently opened up about her motherhood plans, saying: “Next year is going to have to be the time when I reflect on what I’ve done and think about what I want to do. I’m not ruling it out.”