But Sharon was reconciled with her father in 2002, after he developed Alzheimer’s Disease.
Sharon Osbourne’s dad dies - July 24 2007
Sharon Osbourne’s music mogul father, Don Arden, has died at the age of 81.

The infamous rock manager oversaw the careers of acts like the Small Faces, the Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath, fronted by Ozzy Osbourne.

He was renowned for his violent temper and estranged from his daughter for 20 years.

Sharon fought her father to manage her rock star husband.

Arden was one of the most prominent figures in the pop business of the 1960s and 1970s.

He was dubbed The Al Capone of Pop and The English Godfather for his threatening business techniques.

His methods were alleged to include beatings and knee-cappings, and he once got his "heavies" to dangle an entrepreneur out of a third-storey window by his ankles for attempting to lure away the Small Faces.

X Factor judge Sharon was reconciled with her father in 2002, after he developed Alzheimer’s Disease.

The star’s spokesman Gary Farrow said Arden died in a nursing home in Los Angeles.

Sharon recently revealed in a TV interview that the psychological scars from her father’s behaviour remained with her.

She said: "I was surrounded by violent people, violent talk, violent behaviour, so there was nothing unusual seeing my dad threatening someone, or brandishing a firearm.

"My father really had a temper. He had a voice which would echo through the entire house. A couple of times he would whack me and he used to yank my hair. I wouldn’t say I was abused and beaten. In those days it was a normal thing."

Sharon gets back her donations - July 23 2007
Sharon Osbourne will be given back a dress, shoes and a set of dog clothes she donated in good faith to a faked BBC phone-in, it seems.

Viewers were told they could win prizes belonging to a famous couple - in this case the X Factor judge and her rocker husband Ozzy - if they called in to answer a question on Red Nose Day, in March this year.

The "winning" third caller was a production staff member - although they didn’t get the items, according to the Daily Mirror.

The BBC has suspended all phone-in and interactive competitions after admitting that six shows, including charity appeals Comic Relief, Sports Relief and Children In Need, had deceived viewers by using fake competition winners for viewer phone-ins.

A BBC source told the paper: "Management is now determined to move on. One good place to start is by returning the items donated by the Osbournes."

Sharon threatens to quit? - July 13 2007
Sharon Osbourne has apparently threatened to quit the X Factor if her act fails to win the next series.

The fiery judge confessed she was fed up of coming behind music mogul Simon Cowell and will throw in the towel in after series four, if she doesn’t land a top act, reports the Daily Star.

The 54-year-old said: "If I don’t win I will fire myself before someone else does."

The barbed comment comes after Louis Walsh’s sacking and subsequent rehiring after the last series.

A source added: "Sharon may have been joking but she may have been deadly serious. No-one would be surprised if she decided to call it a day at the end of the series."

The biggest competition in the show now will be a new 14 to 16-year-old category.

Simon said: "People worried that we’d lowered the age qualification too far but that isn’t the case.

"The 14-year-olds are really more like 18-year-olds. They are cocky and confident - it’s the 50-year-olds who are really nervous."