Kate Thornton has admitted that she was left 'embarrassed and humiliated' after she was dropped by The X Factor in 2006.

Having previously worked with Simon Cowell on Pop Idol: Extra, Thornton was picked by the music mogul to host his new pop reality series when it launched in 2004.

The now-47-year-old fronted the first three series of the show and claims that she was assured by Cowell that she would be returning for series four, only to later discover that she had been dropped in favour of Dermot O'Leary.

"They didn't renew my contract having said that they would - and by they, I mean Simon," she told the In The Pink podcast. "It was on the News at Ten. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating and it kind of burnt for a bit.

"It hurt more that someone I considered to be a friend hadn't been up front with me. It's tough and you develop the skin of a bloody rhino and I'm only grateful it happened in a time pre-social media otherwise I'm sure it would have hurt a lot more now. That would've really hurt."

Thornton currently works as a presenter on BBC Radio Newcastle and hosts occasional programmes on BBC Radio 2.