Dannii Minogue Welcomes Baby Boy, Nicole Scherzinger Fills Her ‘X Factor’ Seat

Robbie Daw | July 7, 2010 2:05 pm

Dannii Minogue proved that big sis Kylie wasn’t the only member of the family who had a big release this week when she and rugby player boyfriend Kris Smith welcomed son Ethan Edward Smith in Melbourne on Monday. The BBC reports that the 38-year-old is currently on baby leave from her X Factor judging duties in England, with recent Dancing With The Stars winner Nicole Scherzinger currently filling in for her during the hit UK series’ audition process. Meanwhile, Minogue’s co-judge Cheryl Cole has contracted malaria.

The Daily Mail notes that it’s speculated Girls Aloud diva Cole picked up the disease while vacationing in Tanzania with dancer Derek Hough, who was Scherzinger’s partner on DWTS and co-starred with Cheryl in her “Parachute” video. (Is your head spinning from this six degrees of separation yet?)

“It is a lot more serious than first thought. Everyone thought she would pull through after 24 hours but there have been no signs of improvement,” a source told the British paper. “She is very ill and will not be out of hospital for a while. Everyone is holding their breath.” Cole is currently being treated in London’s UCL Hospital.

Pussycat Doll Scherzinger was originally supposed to fill in for Dannii during her baby leave. No replacement judge has been tapped for Cheryl, who’s expected to miss several weeks of The X Factor‘s auditions.