Gary Barlow Reveals He Almost Quit The X Factor

29 September 2012, 09:07 | Updated: 29 September 2012, 09:12

The Take That star admits at times he found the pressure of the music reality show hard to cope with last year.

Gary Barlow has revealed that he came close to quitting his positing as a judge on The X Factor this year.

The 'Rule The World' singer admitted that last year's shows left him "knackered" and constantly "nervous".

Asked if he thought about walking about from his judge's seat, he said: "Yeah. It was hard, yeah, yeah. If I'm really honest, I'm not really a fan of hard work."

He continued: "There's a lot of pressure, it really is massive. Last year, I'd sit down feeling so nervous."

During his first season with the music reality show, the singer was also juggling touring commitments with Take That.

He told the Daily Mirror that this was sometimes a difficult task to do and couldn't always give his all at auditions. 

"I was on tour while we were doing the auditions last year and it was hard work. I always felt miserable when I arrived because I was knackered," he confessed.

However, he is glad to be back on board for the 2012 series and revealed he has even been looking forward to the bad auditions.

"This year, I've enjoyed the bad ones more than the good ones," he said. "I'm almost disappointed when they come out and they're good. I hope to be a bit lighter this year."

This weekend will see the return of Cheryl Cole during the judges house phase, after Gary brought the Girls Aloud singer back to the show following her departure from the US version last year.