Sinitta has upped the ante with her X Factor judges' houses outfit this year, sporting a "hair-kini" and a huge American Indian headdress.

Joining head judge Simon Cowell in Los Angeles as his right-hand woman again, the singer put on a more spectacular show that any of the contestants as she unveiled her look, which included fixing long hair into place to cover her modesty.

Sinitta, who once wore only strategically-placed palm leaves to judges' houses, told the Daily Mirror: "Now there's some sort of expectation. So I had been thinking about it and I was like, 'OK, let's see,' and then my great grandmother was a native American Indian anyway, that's going back to America.

"Xtra Factor's Sarah Jane Crawford described it as a hair-kini because I had to strategically glue it onto my body so that my hair was covering all the right places and I used hair wax and things like that to do it."

Sinitta also spoke about Simon's working relationship with returning judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini: "When she first started she was young and Simon was very much sort of guiding and steering her through it and almost feeling quite protective of her.

"Now she's kind of shaken all of that off and really owns it and kind of challenges him and gives him a run for his money.

"She's like Simon as well. I think he's a bit threatened as well now, like, 'Uh oh, she's going to win'. Whereas I think before it was like, 'Don't worry, you can do this,' but now he needs to hold his own, rather than try and look after her."

Meanwhile, X Factor bosses have decided to scrap scenes showing the contestants swimming with dolphins following an online petition and complaints from viewers who saw a clip of a forthcoming episode of The Xtra Factor.

Animal charity Peta said that the animals taking part in stunt shows have usually "endured the trauma of being caught and torn away from their families before they are sold into a life of captivity".

Simon Cowell told fans on Twitter: "Reading your tweets. I had no idea Xtra Factor producers filmed with dolphins. This will NOT be showed on Saturday.

"I think you all know my view on cruelty to animals so thank you all for your concern.

"I want to send this out regarding the Xtra Factor team. They are a hard working bunch who weren't aware of the growing concern regarding dolphins."