Simon Cowell credits himself for turning Cheryl Cole into a superstar

London, May 2 (ANI): Simon Cowell has boasted that it was his decision to hand Cheryl Cole an 'X Factor' judging role in 2008, which "propelled her into a different league".

Speaking about the singer at length for the first time since dropping her from US X Factor, the music mogul admitted he would work with her again in "a heartbeat".

"Even though we went through that pretty horrible period, I could look Cheryl in the eye and say what I did for her in those two years propelled her into a different league. I always said to her the door is permanently open. It's entirely up to her what she wants to do," the Sun quoted him as telling GQ Magazine.

The 52-year-old had asked Cheryl to be a judge on the first US X Factor series last May, but 'Pussycat Doll' Nicole Scherzinger soon replaced her.

Simon is adamant he did not sack Cheryl and wanted to "move her" to the UK series.

"If I could reverse time it wouldn't have happened. It was an in-the-moment decision where you put your producer's hat on. I just thought she was more comfortable on the UK show. She was hurt. It all ended pretty badly, to be honest," he added. (ANI)