Cole may join rival "BBC"

Cheryl Cole, who has been dumped from US X Factor, may take the ultimate revenge on Simon Cowell and defect to a rival network.

The singer has been offered to join talent show The Voice, which the BBC plans to launch on Saturday evenings next year.

The Voice, where judges including Christina Aguilera hear the auditions “blind” and rate the talent purely on their singing voices, is a hit in the States, where it attracts more than 12 million viewers.

Music boss David Joseph is said to be keen for Cole to promote her career and music on the show.

"Universal are heavily involved in recruiting judges for The Voice when it moves to the BBC and they are urging Cheryl to be the big star of that show," the Mirror quoted a record company source as saying.

"It would be a fresh start for her and would mean she could work with people who she trusts and who have her best interests at heart. It would also be a great way of sticking two fingers up at Simon Cowell," the source said.

Even if Cole does decide to return to ITV, the door at the BBC would remain open to her, claimed the source.