The X Factor 2008 - the girls - Diana Vickers, Laura White and Alexandra Burke

Cheryl Cole's first season as an X Factor judge and now mentor is going so well that she sometimes must have to pinch herself. Now Cheryl would appear to have the icing on the cake as she's been named as the mentor in charge of this year's 25 and under girls - arguably the strongest category of all this year.

Cheryl appears to have chosen wisely on the whole - her three finalists are the 'little hippy' 17-year-old Diana Vickers from Lancashire who will bring something totally new and refreshing to the competition, 20 year-old Laura White who could be the next Amy Winehouse (but hopefully slightly more problem-free) and second-time lucky Alexandra Burke who was rejected at this stage by Louis Walsh three years ago. Tears flowed all around as Cheryl revealed to the girls that they'd have to start getting ready for the live shows.

Not so lucky were Annastasia Baker who must have known her time on the show was very limited following her disastrous performance in front of Cheryl on last night's show. She is joined on the flight home from Cannes by Hannah Bradbeer whose voice was very strong but she didn't really seem to have the right image for the show and 18-year-old Amy Connolly, who despite her very strong voice, was regretfully sent home by Cheryl. It was unfortunate that Cheryl couldn't pick four girls really, as she really seemed to struggle to tell Amy that she wasn't going any further. However, that's the way the show goes and you can look forward to seeing Diana, Laura and Alexandra in the live shows from next Saturday.

Meanwhile you can discuss the show in The X Factor forum.