Kate Thornton's TV return confirmed 12 years after last hosting gig

Kate Thornton is making her return to TV with a new royal show - 12 years after her last hosting gig.

The 51-year-old TV presenter is best known for being the original host of 'The X Factor' but she was controversially replaced by Dermot O’Leary after the third series in 2006 with her reason for being axed not being clear.

She then went onto appear as a presenter on 'This Morning' and 'Lorraine' after this, and in recent years, has been a host on BBC Radio 2 and Greatest Hits Radio.

Now, Kate is returning to TV screens with her new show 'The Royal Beat with Kate Thornton', which will see her talk to royal experts about the current issues surrounding the monarchy.

The series will run for 10 episodes and the hour-long episodes will see Kate will talk to all those in the know about the Royal Family.

She said in a statement: "I’m thrilled to be bringing The Royal Beat to ITV and ITVX at a time of incredible change for our Monarchy.

"On every episode, we’ll be joined by those that work closest with the royal family to bring you genuine insight on the work they do and explore what really happens behind closed doors in the House of Windsor."

She added: "I think viewers will come away with a deeper understanding of the family and the machine that sits behind it to better understand why the Royals mean so much to us as a nation."

Kate previously admitted that being sacked from 'The X Factor' by music mogul Simon Cowell was really humiliating and it hurt her.

Appearing on the 'In The Pink podcast with Natalie Pinkham', she said: "It hurt more that somebody that I considered to be a friend hadn’t been up front with me.

"It was very public. It was on the News at Ten. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating and it kind of burnt for a bit. Then you process it, and you go 'I’m not letting this define me'."

'The Royal Beat with Kate Thornton' is coming to ITV and ITVX in October.