Despite her friendship with Simon Cowell it appears that Cheryl Cole will not be his replacement on American Idol, the US version of X-Factor, according to Heat magazine.

American bosses at Fox, the company that airs the show are reluctant to cast Cheryl Cole as a judge due to the fact the American public as a whole do not know who she is. There are further fears that they wont ‘get her’ state side.  Stars such as Mariah Carey are seen as top of the list for the soon to be vacant position.

Simon Cowell, who by all accounts ‘genuinely loves Cheryl’, is not comfortable with letting her down. According to Heat magazine however, the issue has become more complex as Simon Cowell is beginning to agree with the bosses at Fox. So far however, he has not directly told Cheryl Cole that the job is not hers, and instead has stated, “No one else has been signed up yet, so you never know.”

One of the reasons for Cowell’s u-turn is believed to have come from fellow judge Louis Walsh, who felt Cheryl wasn’t qualified to go stateside and favoured Nicole Scherzinger instead.