I didn't keep my mouth shut when I should've

Sharon Osbourne is as candid as ever as she talks about her husband Ozzy’s health and the colleagues she gets on with and those she doesnt

- RICHARD BARBER 

There's little Sharon Osbourne likes more than hearing other people's life stories. "I'd never buy a novel," says the fiery Mrs O. "I only buy biographies. I don't like made-up stories. Mind you, I don't think anyone could make up my story."

She has a point. Wherever she goes, the 71-year-old has a habit of trailing controversy in her wake. Does she think she attracts trouble? "Yes, I do. I think it may be because I'm a bit eccentric so it must follow me around. I'm a magnet for drama."

But ask her if she's a woman for regrets and her answer is surprising. "Sure," she says. "To have regrets is a part of life and growing. I often think, 'If only I could do that again,' but you can't. So, all you can do is try to make sure you don't do whatever it was again."

What does she regret professionally? She says, "I'm someone who has With her X Factor co-stars Dermot, Simon, Nicole and Louis. always said what's on her mind. And then it's gone. But others won't let it go. They don't like confrontation and they don't like when I challenge a situation.

"The thing that I forgot when I was actively trying to have a career in TV was that I was an employee - it wasn't my show. There were certain rules that went with that, certain attitudes expected of you. There's a professionalism that should come with the way you conduct yourself. The trouble has been that I've spoken out about how a production was run, say, but that wasn't my place. I didn't own the show. I wasn't a producer. I didn't keep my mouth shut when I should have done."

It's one of the reasons she's put together a one-woman show, Cut The Crap!, in which she will appear in London and Birmingham towards the end of January.