Sharon Osbourne has admitted she was initially unsure about returning to the UK to take part in the new series of The X Factor because of how the British public felt about her.

The returning judge – who appeared on the first four series of the ITV singing contest in 2004 until 2007, and again in 2013 – lives and works in California in the US.

She said: “I didn’t have any reservations about doing the show but just about coming back to England and whether people really wanted me here or not.

Sharon Osbourne
The X Factor’s Sharon Osbourne (Garrett White/PA)

“It was like, is it right for me to come back because it’s been a long time since I have really spent any length of time here?”

She added she was more concerned with the British public’s feelings about her comeback, rather than what Simon Cowell or ITV wanted.

However, she decided to make the leap, although she will split her time between the UK and Los Angeles, jetting back and forth every week and working with her allocated contestants via Skype.

The X Factor
The X Factor behind the scenes (Thames/Syco Entertainment)

She said: “It’s all about Skype, everything’s on Skype these days. You might as well be in the room with them, so it’s not like they can’t sing for me or show me their routine or something they don’t like.”

Sharon has also given X Factor fans something to look forward to, as she has hinted that she may throw water on the show once again.

The music manager and wife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne is known for having previously chucked water at fellow judges Simon and Louis Walsh.

She said: “It depends because you never know what’s going to happen. That’s what’s so good!”

Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh
Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh on the first series of The X Factor in 2004 (ITV/PA)

Sharon went on to say that becoming a grandmother was “the best thing” that has happened to her in the past five years.

She has two granddaughters from her son Jack called Pearl Clementine, four, and Andy Rose, one, whom she dubbed “the light of my life”.

She added: “Before I left for this trip I was like, ‘Right, I have to go and say goodbye to the kids!’. They are like, ‘Nana, why are you going? Why do you have to work?’, they are so sweet.”