Simon Cowell sent messages of support to Caroline Flack while she competed on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Caroline - who used to present 'The Xtra Factor' on ITV - said: "He sent me a lovely text actually saying how well I've been doing and he was really proud of me, and so that was nice."

Caroline, who's previously dated One Direction star Harry Styles, says her success on the dancefloor has caused her to reconsider her career options, suggesting she hopes to appear in a stage production.

She shared: "My life has changed a lot. I believe in myself a lot more, I feel a lot more confident ... [professional partner] Pasha Kovalev has changed me more than Strictly.

"I'm such a worrier about everything - I worry and panic about a lot of things. And he's the opposite. So he rationalises a lot of things I think about and worry about and he's changed the way I think about things because he levels out my thoughts for me.

"And that's been really nice. It's really healthy, it's really positive. After doing Strictly - even three or four weeks in - I was thinking, 'I'd love to do something like be in a musical or something like that' - completely change the path. I don't know - 2015 will be an exciting year, I think."