The Xtra Factor: Presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford quits ITV2 series after one year

The Xtra Factor host Sarah-Jane Crawford has announced that she will not be returning to the show for a second year.

The BBC Radio 1Xtra host told her Twitter followers that she has quit The X Factor's ITV2 sister series after just one year to focus on a "new project".

Crawford tweeted:

Shedding more light on the 33-year-old's sudden departure, a source told The Mirror: "Sarah had two different meetings with X Factor bosses and lots of discussions this week.

"Everyone decided that this was the best outcome. Sarah is really looking forward to the projects she is going to be starting this summer."

Twitter reactions have so far been mixed, with responses including:

After presenter Caroline Flack quit the series at the end of 2013, the radio DJ was announced as her replacement soon after and she said in a statement that she was "thrilled" with her new role.

Following her appointment as the new host, an insider told The Mirror that show boss Simon Cowell was "bowled over" by Crawford's talents.

They said: "Simon Cowell has been bowled over by Sarah-Jane, he thinks she will be brilliant."

Crawford's departure comes just days after multiple reports have emerged of a huge "shake-up" to the X Factor line-up. Long-serving judge Louis Walsh appears to have been given the chop by Cowell, 54, after 11 years on the panel.

A show source told The Sun On Sunday: "They are close friends so Simon wanted to do this the right way. So Simon spoke to Louis and told him that it's 95 per cent certain that he'll be 'stood down' this year."

It has also been claimed that BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Nick Grimshaw is in talks to replace Walsh with producers keen to use his connections in the music industry to draw better performers and a new audience.