Cole may join rival "BBC"

Cheryl Cole, who has been dumped from US X Factor, may take the ultimate revenge on Simon Cowell and defect to a rival network.

The singer has been offered to join talent show The Voice, which the BBC plans to launch on Saturday evenings next year.

The Voice, where judges including Christina Aguilera hear the auditions “blind” and rate the talent purely on their singing voices, is a hit in the States, where it attracts more than 12 million viewers.

Music boss David Joseph is said to be keen for Cole to promote her career and music on the show.

"Universal are heavily involved in recruiting judges for The Voice when it moves to the BBC and they are urging Cheryl to be the big star of that show," the Mirror quoted a record company source as saying.

"It would be a fresh start for her and would mean she could work with people who she trusts and who have her best interests at heart. It would also be a great way of sticking two fingers up at Simon Cowell," the source said.

Even if Cole does decide to return to ITV, the door at the BBC would remain open to her, claimed the source.

Simon upset over Cole being axed

Simon Cowell has expressed his grief over the sacking of judge Cheryl Cole from the US X Factor show.

He is said to have confided to a friend that he feels guilty and sorry that it didn't work out, reported The Sun.

Cowell reportedly said that his 'hands were tied' by network executives, who did not seem to be impressed by the 27-year-old pop star.

"He is gutted," said a source at Fox channel.

"He loves Cheryl and did everything in his power to get her on US TV. But channel chiefs just weren't happy. It was a necessary evil and he feels terribly guilty about it," the source added.