Fleur East has backed Louis Walsh to return to 'The X Factor'.

Fleur East

Fleur East

The music manager is reportedly locked in a battle with One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson over who will replace Nick Grimshaw on the judging panel and former runner up Fleur is backing Walsh.

She told The Sun: "I love him. He is lovely. I did miss a bit of Louis on there, I'm not going to lie.

"I missed his energy. He's just so full of life so it will be nice to see a bit of him again."

Meanwhile, Nick joked that both could take his place.

He quipped: "Sellotape them both together and have double Louis."

Tomlinson - who found fame on 'The X Factor' with One Direction and also returned as a mentor at Judges' Houses last year - confirmed he is interested in the role but said there have been no official talks yet.

When asked about speculation linking him to the job, he said: "It's really exciting. We've had no official conversation yet. But yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I?"