SHARON OSBOURNE may be back on The X Factor but her acts may not get quite the close-quarters mentoring previous hopefuls enjoyed.
She’ll be jetting back to the US several times during the series, forcing her wannabes to keep in touch via Skype.
The veteran star, who returned to the show yesterday declaring herself “the nan of the panel”, will fly first-class between London and LA, with ITV picking up the £13,000-a-trip tab.
The flights are necessary because she is also hosting US chat show The Talk. Shazza tweeted: “How lucky am I to have 2 jobs @TheTalk_CBS & @TheXFactor?
“I will be going back & forth all yr, best of both worlds!”
But the to-ing-and-fro-ing will infuriate her performers who rely on their mentors to coach them.
Shazza, who quit the show after the 2007 series, will sometimes have to rely on the internet video call service to keep in touch with whichever category she gets this year.
Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh greet crowds outside city's Hilton Hotel for first round of auditions
A source said: “Sharon has done a deal which will see her jet back and forth a number of times, with her flights paid for by ITV. That was one of her conditions.
“But she is still confident she can give her acts the support they need.
“There are a million ways to keep in touch with people. Many of the judges aren’t there every day of the week.”
Last night a show spokesman insisted she would only fly back “a couple of times” when the live shows were on, with the bulk of her travel around the auditions and boot camps.
Sharon often jetted back to LA when she was last on the show in 2007.
And former judge Kelly Rowland was famously criticised for leaving her acts in the lurch. She flew back to the US after a row with Louis Walsh and Tulisa, then skipped an entire weekend, forcing former show star Alexandra Burke to step in.
Sharon is understood to want to spend as much time as possible in the US as she attempts to patch up her relationship with husband Ozzy.
We revealed that the pair were living separate lives after he confessed to taking drugs and drinking again.
She also wants to be there for son Jack, who has multiple sclerosis, and daughter Kelly who had a health scare in March, collapsing with a seizure.
Yesterday Shazza regained her slot on the judging panel for the first round of judges’ auditions in Glasgow.
The back-to-basics format saw her, Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger whittle down the first batch of 50 wannabes in a private room at the Hilton hotel.
But despite talk that she would want to be the boss, knocking Barlow off his perch, Sharon insisted she was happy to play second fiddle.
She said: “I shouldn’t be head judge - I laugh too much and I’m not serious enough. I’m the nan of the panel.
“It’s overwhelming. Honestly it is. It feels natural, it feels like I should be here.”
Gary said he was apprehensive about Sharon’s return, saying: “It’s very interesting this time because there are two artists and two managers.
“That is a great panel right there because managers see different things than artists see.
“When I’m looking at someone I’m comparing them to what I am and what I do - but managers don’t. They have a bigger overview.”
Louis said he was delighted his old pal Sharon was back.
He added: “Sharon brings the madness out in everybody. She’s going to bring out the madness in Gary too.”
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