Louis Walsh reignites his feud with Cheryl as he says she 'looked good but it took a lot of help' and claims Girls Aloud were 'difficult to manage because they didn't like each other'

Louis Walsh has reignited his feud with Cheryl as he said 'she looked good, but it took a lot of help.'

The former X Factor judge, 74, has had a longstanding feud with the singer, 43, since he managed Girls Aloud from 2002 to 2004.

The girl group was formed through ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals, and was made up of Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.

Sarah tragically passed away from breast cancer in September 2021 at the age of 39.

Now, appearing on The 2 Johnnies podcast this week, Louis took a brutal swipe at Girls Aloud, who disbanded in 2013.

He said: 'Girls Aloud came out of that [show] and they had some great records.

Louis Walsh has reignited his feud with Cheryl as he said 'she looked good but it took a lot of help'

The former X Factor judge, 74, has had a longstanding feud with the singer, 43, since he managed Girls Aloud from 2002 to 2004

'I was managing them for a while, but it’s difficult to manage a girl group. They don’t like each other. 

'Very competitive, and I made the very silly mistake of saying Nadine was the best singer, which she was. They didn’t like that.

'They were a great girl group, and they looked great. They should have been much bigger in Europe.'

He continued: 'I was never really into it. I inherited it because I was on the show and I was working with Polydor.

'I suggested that Tiffany song, it didn’t really work for them. They were only big in the UK and Ireland.

'They weren’t big in Europe; they should have been.'

Elsewhere in the podcast, Louis continued to share his thoughts towards Cheryl while she was on The X Factor.

The singer made two separate stints from 2008 to 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015.

Louis admitted that he was never 'really into' Girls Aloud but instead just 'inherited it' because he managed them on Popstars: The Rivals - the show which made them famous 

Elsewhere in the podcast, Louis continued to share his thoughts towards Cheryl while she was on The X Factor

He said: 'Looked fantastic, looked great, it took a lot of help - and she got the sympathy vote because she was crying a bit... Ashley Cole was f***ing around'

He said: 'Don't forget; she was on Girls Aloud then and came on.

'Looked fantastic, looked great, it took a lot of help - and she got the sympathy vote because she was crying a bit... Ashley Cole was f***ing around.

'There were different things. She became the nation's sweetheart. I thought she was good, not great.'

Louis continued: 'Rita Ora was good and Kelly Rowland. Dannii was good – Simon liked her a lot.

'I loved Gary Barlow. He was honest, even though he told Tulisa about her fag ash breath.

'Nicole Scherzinger – love her. She works hard. She’s like an Olympic champion – she wants to win. Like when she grabbed the mic with Jahmene.'

The X Factor pulled in 19 million viewers during its heyday and saw contestants such as Leona Lewis and One Direction become household names.

After 15 series, it was shelved by ITV and went on to have two spin-off series X Factor: Celebrity and X Factor: The Band.

Last month it was said that head judge Simon is likely to return to the show in some sort of capacity.

Insiders claim the broadcaster is keen on bringing it back with a revamp after new shows The Neighbourhood and The Fortune Hotel were panned.

A source told The Sun: 'ITV have a giant gaping hole that needs filling in its entertainment schedule, particularly over weekends when bigger viewing figures are up for grabs.

'ITV can’t afford another disaster after the car crash of The Neighbourhood, which was colossally expensive and failed terribly. Rather than creating more flop formats they have the opportunity to give The X Factor, a sure-fire hit, a modern makeover.

'They can explore a younger, fresher panel, with new faces and have Cowell behind the scenes. The plan is for the show’s return to take on a new life and be updated to envelop social media generation.'