Dannii Minogue has opened up about her time on the X Factor, revealing that starring on the ITV programme ‘took its toll’ on her ‘entire life.’

The Australian singer, 53, was a judge on the talent show between 2007 until 2010, working alongside judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne during her stint. 

Dannii’s time on the X Factor was turbulent to say the least, having been embroiled in feuds with Sharon and Louis, with Danni later stating that she sought therapy after leaving the show. 

And in a new interview, Dannii reflected on her tough time on the show before making a dig at show bosses for not prioritising her mental health. 

Speaking on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Podcast, she shared: ‘I definitely had a moment where I was like, “If this is what [the show] is – the toll it takes on your entire life – I don’t know if it’s worth it for me”. I remember thinking, “The show is what it is and I’ve got to step off”.’

These days, Dannii is currently working on BBC Three’s I Kissed A Boy and the star was quick to compare the two shows, noting that her most recent project is the first time she feels that production have taken her mental health into account. 

Dannii Minogue has opened up about her time on the X Factor , revealing that starring on the ITV programme ‘took its toll’ on her ‘entire life’ [pictured in 2024]

The Australian singer, 53, was a judge on the talent show between 2007 until 2010, working alongside judges Simon Cowell , Cheryl , Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne during her stint

She explained: ‘The first time I’ve worked on a TV show – bearing in mind I’ve worked on TV since I was seven – the first time I’ve ever been told, “If you need to speak to someone they’re there”, was on I Kissed A Boy season 1. 

‘It’s the first time I ever thought that my mental health was important, and was acknowledged.’

Suggesting that mental health wasn’t a priority for the makers of the X Factor, Dannii added: ‘It would have been really helpful back in The X Factor days to have had anything like that.’ 

Meanwhile, the I Begin To Wonder hitmaker also made a slight dig at her fellow judges as se spoke about her work ethic on the show.

She remarked: ‘The length of the days were so long. We would go straight into rehearsals for the next week’s songs and none of the other judges were there, I was always there at 10am.’

So full on were her days working on the programme that Dannii confessed that she would have rather stuck ‘pin in her eyes’ than go on to feature on spin-off show Xtra Factor.

She remarked: ‘I’d get home at 1:30 and it would take me three hours to wind down, then they’d say, “Do you want to just pop over to Xtra Factor?”

‘You just want to say, “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes”. But, when you’re a viewer at home and you get that extra bit… it was amazing. It just, energy wise, you didn’t get the best of us.’

Dannii’s time on the X Factor was turbulent to say the least, having been embroiled in feuds with Sharon and Louis [both left], with Danni later stating that she sought therapy after leaving the show

‘I definitely had a moment where I was like, “If this is what [the show] is – the toll it takes on your entire life – I don’t know if it’s worth it for me”

Dannii noted that working on I Kissed A Boy [pictured] was the first time she feels that production have taken her mental health into account

‘The length of the days were so long. We would go straight into rehearsals for the next week’s songs and none of the other judges were there, I was always there at 10am’

Read More Dannii Minogue opens up about sister Kylie’s devastating cancer diagnosis

Elsewhere on the podcast, Dannii admitted he ‘wouldn’t be alive’ if she wasn’t so mentally strong after years of ‘nasty comments’ and being compared to her elder sibling Kylie Minogue. 

Dannii revealed: ‘I’ve said this to my friends, “I know that, if I wasn’t mentally strong and I did have any kind of eating disorder or something, I wouldn’t be alive now.” That is fact.

‘It was so brutal, and it went on for years.’

And despite critics trying to create a sibling rivalry, Dannii and Kylie, 56, remain a united force. 

She added: ‘I was compared to my sister, who’s always had a completely different body shape our entire lives.

‘I wasn’t living up to her body. At the time, the only body shape that was accepted was slim.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Dannii admitted he ‘wouldn’t be alive’ if she wasn’t so mentally strong after years of ‘nasty comments’ and being compared to her elder sibling Kylie Minogue 

Despite critics trying to create a sibling rivalry, Dannii and Kylie, 56, remain a united force

‘I was a square trying to fit into a hole. You read back now how nasty the comments were.’

Dannii went on to share her priority is now is spending precious time with her family and only taking on work that’s ‘important’ to her.

She is in a relationship with music producer Adrian Newman, and said giving birth to son Ethan, 14, in 2010 changed her focus.

She explained: ‘I’ve spent my life travelling around the world, being away, missing birthdays, weddings, funerals.

‘I’m really trying to find the balance now.

‘You can’t have just the happiness without everything else. If you accept there’s light and dark, it’s all part of it.’