We know the secret reason why Cheryl and Dannii were separated this weekend...

• Posted by: 3am
• 05/11/09
• 12:00 am

And it wasn't just because Dannii was worried she'd have her eye out on Cheryl's dress.

Here at 3am, we're creatures of habit, so we felt most unsettled when we spotted that Dannii and Louis had swapped seats on the X Factor judging panel this weekend - but we might have known that temperamental old Simon Cowell had something to do with it.

"It was on Simon's say-so," says someone who witnessed this impromptu Simon Says/Musical Chairs hybrid. "He wasn't that happy with the show a week ago - he thought it was a bit boring and decided it needed shaking up a bit. So he opted to move Louis up the panel this week and Dannii down to the end. He just doesn't think there is enough banter and interaction between the girls - they basically lack chemistry. It has certainly ruffled some feathers - Louis is quite relaxed about the move but Dannii was not at all happy."

We have a feeling that this might spark up those tiresome rumours yet again that Dannii and Cheryl aren't exactly the best of friends - especially with quotes like this: "There isn't that much banter between Cheryl and Dannii. They're not mates like Louis and Simon, who have no compunction about hurling insults at each other, and that really shows. They just don't spend much time chatting in their dressing rooms or in the canteen. Simon was fed-up with having to lean backwards to spar with Louis, especially when most of the interesting banter is between them."

Well, we can see why Dannii's tall hair might get in the way - but we can also see that this is a cunning way for clever old Simon to stir up even more controversy, which we all know he bloody loves.

Poor Dannii - she must feel like the kid at school who gets moved for being a disruptive influence. We feel her pain - we got moved in GCSE English for spending too much time arguing about the relative hotness of Alex James and Damon Albarn with our best mate and not enough time analysing the finer details of Great Expectations. But which of those activities do you think comes in more handy for this job...?

Anyway, we'll be interested to see who's sitting where this weekend. How about Louis on one of Simon's knees, Cheryl on the other, and Dannii lying on the floor under the table in tribute to Rachel Adedeji?

Pic: Rex