As Dannii Minogue heads to Kent to meet fans and sign her latest book, Chris Price looks back at the career of the pop princess turned fashion idol.

It was the battle that everyone tuned in to see every Saturday night. As X Factor came on TV screens, the nation waited to see who would walk out victorious in their latest outfit – Dannii Minogue or Cheryl Cole.

More often than not, it was Dannii who turned the heads of every viewer with her easy red-carpet looks. She captured the nation’s hearts during her four series as a judge and awards came her way for TV Personality of the Year from Glamour magazine, Celeb of the Year from the Metro and OK! Magazine’s Favourite Judge.

So it was with a heavy heart that the nation said goodbye to her as a judge on the ITV show earlier this year, citing scheduling problems.

In a statement at the time she said: “During discussions for me to return it became clear that unfortunately, this year, the X Factor audition dates in the UK clash with the live shows of Australia’s Got Talent during June and July. For this reason I am unable to return.”

Where now would female viewers get their fashion ideas on how to stand out from the crowd? From 2007 to 2010 Danni’s X Factor outfits had been the answer. A woman does not become the new face of Marks & Spencer and ModelCo for being a wallflower.

It turns out the 39-year-old had a plan up her designer sleeve all along. In her new book Dannii: My Style, she shares her style secrets and on Thursday, September 29, the Aussie icon will be offering a few tips in person when she calls in at Bluewater to sign copies.

Yet it seems strange to think that not so long ago, this kind of adulation seemed such a long way off for Dannii.

Before her resurgence on X Factor her portrayal in the media was always in relation to her more successful sister Kylie.

Danni came to our attention in Aussie soap Home & Away at the age of 17 and when she first landed in the UK more than 20 years ago she had to qualify every interview with the fact that in Australia she was the more famous sister.

“It is hard to be compared all the time to Kylie,” she said in an interview in 2003. “On the other hand, people will always try to compare you to somebody. Look at Britney and Christina.”

Throughout her music career for every hit (Can you remember the Baby Love, Put A Needle On It or All I Wanna Do) there was a miss (Love’s On Every Corner and Touch Me Like That to name just two). In 2001, she was even performing gigs on the nightclub circuit, appearing at Maidstone’s Jumping Jaks.

Yet after landing the role of the fourth judge on the fourth series of Simon Cowell’s television juggernaught, Dannii became the first female mentor to win the X Factor with Leon Jackson. And she ended her time on the show on a high too, guiding Matt Cardle to win last year.

So all hail to Dannii, who turned from pop’s bridesmaid into fashion’s bride.

Whatever she is wearing when she visits Kent this week, expect it to fly off the rails.

Dannii Minogue will sign copies of Dannii: My Style at Waterstone’s in Bluewater on Thursday, September 29, from 5.30pm.