Former X Factor presenter Kate Thornton launched a stinging attack on Simon Cowell today.

Thornton hosted the reality talent show for three years until she was axed in 2007.

The 35-year-old accused Cowell of sacking her just to generate publicity for the show.

She told Closer magazine: "I'll never talk to Simon again. He fired me to create headlines without even telling me beforehand, when we had been good friends.

"Sharon (Osbourne) and Louis Walsh really supported me, but at the end of the day it was a game of 'Simon Says' and he wanted me out."

Thornton gave birth to a son, Ben, last May and said she enjoyed motherhood far more than the celebrity lifestyle.

And she never tunes in to her old programme.

"I wouldn't watch the show now because it would be like seeing your ex-boyfriend with his new girlfriend," she said.

"You don't have feelings for them any more, but you don't want to see it."