Now, Simon Cowell pleads Cheryl Cole to return to X Factor

London: Simon Cowell, who had dropped Cheryl Cole as judge in U.S. X Factor, is now urging her to join back the show in view of falling TRPs.

Cowell contacted Cole two weeks back, when judge Kelly Rowland fell ill halfway through the series and had to pull out. Though Rowland has returned to the show but the ratings have continued to decline, dropping by 2.5million viewers compared to last year. In a bid to boost ratings, the TV mogul will be returning to the UK this week for talks with all the judges and contestants and to try and persuade Cole to return to the show. According to an insider, Simon has made 28-year-old Cole an offer ‘she can’t refuse’, even though she has yet to make her decision, the Daily Mail reported. The offer is to appear as a behind-the-scenes mentor for the contestants in one of the final episodes, where she would give advice to all of them and guidance on their performances. While Cole’s spokesman asserted that she is ‘over The X Factor’ and has no plans to return, a source close to Cowell confirmed he has been in talks with her. “The X Factor UK team and Cheryl did discuss her coming back on the weekend when Kelly was ill,” the source said. “She was up for it but it didn’t quite work out – it was all very amicable.” ‘Everything is very friendly and I’m sure they will work together on something in the future, but nothing is being discussed at the moment.” On the other hand, friends of Cole have maintained that she is due to meet Cowell while he is in London to discuss her making a one-off comeback. “She is thinking about it – Simon has been very generous,” the source added. ANI