EXPECT the next series of The X Factor to be a little bit spicier – thanks to new judge Mel B.

Formerly Scary Spice in The Spice Girls, Melanie Brown is  now 39 and has been better known latterly as a reality show judge.

She’s been on Dancing with the Stars in America, was a guest judge on Britain’s X Factor in 2012 and has become a regular judge on the Australian version of the show.

She’s a plain-speaking Yorkshire lass who calls a spade a spade and who won’t hold back on criticising any of the contestants if she doesn’t believe they can make it.

On the face of it, she’s just what The X Factor needs because it’s become a bit of a soft option for wannabes and needs a shot in the arm.

Let’s hope she’s not too discouraging to those wanting to change their lives and re-invent themselves, though, because Mel B is the mistress of these achievements.

She knows very well that you need to give the public what they want and that image is everything. Unfortunately, true talent often seems to come way down the required list here.