Mel will allegedly join music mogul Simon Cowell and music manager- and X Factor veteran- Louis Walsh.
Cheryl Cole announced her return to the hit reality show earlier this year, and speculation has mounted over who will fill the role of the fourth judge.
A source told The Sun: ‘Simon was really keen on Mel as he wanted her to balance out Cheryl.’
'While Cheryl is nice and sweet, Mel can be hard and ballsy.’
‘Simon has told Mel she needs to bring fireworks to the panel- and is rubbing his hands with glee at the arguments she’ll get into with Cheryl.’
The Spice Girls star has acted as a guest judge in the UK X Factor in previous years, filling in whilst Cheryl Cole battled malaria.
Scary Spice has also worked as a judge on the Australian version of the show as well as on the US X Factor.
An ITV source told The Sun: ‘What we’ve said is we want the panel to be as strong as it can be and if that means getting rid of people who have been on it before, so be it.’
The X Factor will return to our screens later this year.