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Leona Lewis believes it was 'the right time' to end The X Factor

The X Factor winner Leona Lewis believes it was "the right time" to end the show.

It was reported in July that Simon Cowell's long-running talent show, which launched in 2004, was being shelved for at least five years and a spokesperson for ITV confirmed that they had "no current plans" for another series.

When asked about the end of the competition, which she won in 2006, the Bleeding Love hitmaker told The Sun that she believes Cowell called it a day at the right time.

"It was bound to happen at some point and I feel like it was the right time," she said. "We are in a different day and age now, with streaming and all the different platforms that we are on - there is so much out there. Everything has to evolve and move on and we can't stay static. We have to go with it and embrace it. It was time."

Lewis added that she struggled with self-doubt while on the show as her appearance was "picked apart", however, she admitted she had an easier ride than Little Mix, who won in 2011.

"It is hard. I feel so much for those girls that came off and were picked apart for their looks. You never get into this thinking about anything other than, 'I'm just going to sing and that's it,'" she shared. "I definitely had moments of self-doubt, for sure. When you're fed these images or have people picking apart your appearance, or 'Who wore it best?' - stuff like that - it gets into your head. That did definitely affect me."

Her comments shortly after Cowell, who rested the original format of the show in 2018, told OK! magazine that the competition will be back.

"This year was the first year since we took it off the air, where I realised how much I'd really, really missed it. And I think the public do as well. It was - and is - a brilliant show. And there's no question it will return," he stated.