Kate Thornton has not kept in contact with Simon Cowell since she was axed from The X Factor.

She was replaced by Dermot O'Leary, 35, as host of the ITV show in 2007.

Kate, 35, who has 21-month-old son Ben with DJ fiancé Darren Emerson, 37, reckons the move was a publicity stunt.

‘I'll never talk to Simon again,’ she says. ‘He fired me to create headlines without even telling me beforehand, when we had been good friends.

‘I wouldn't watch the show now because it would be like seeing your ex-boyfriend with his new girlfriend.’