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Paula Abdul's Reality revenge

By April MacIntyre Aug 9, 2009, 16:21 GMT

Paula Abdul - Tiny dancer, ex Laker girl and singer Paula Abdul is down, but not out.© Bob Charlotte / PR Photos

Tiny dancer, ex Laker girl and singer Paula Abdul is down, but not out.

It was a tough year for Abdul; a crazed fan killed herself in a car outside Abdul's home, and FOX refused to acquiesce to Abdul's salary demands in light of the enormous raise her coworker Ryan Seacrest and fellow judge Simon Cowell received.  Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi are returning, but each of them has significant income from other sources, and are not hammering producers for big raises.

The Yin to Cowell's Yang, Paula served as the warm fuzzy "nurturing" American Idol judge for eight years; her appearances netted a great deal of comic relief by way of her incoherent comments that the AI watchers had a field day with during day-after dished AI post-mortems.

Now Variety claims Nigel Lythgoe, the polite-ish Englishman, equine sex metaphor fan and friend of Simon Cowell is courting Paula Abdul, who may join the "So You Think You Can Dance" show following her exit from American Idol.

Lythgoe told Variety and said there was "no question" he wanted to sign Abdul.

He said he knew of nobody else with her "experience of being a dancer, of being a choreographer and of being a judge."

Abdul started out as a hoofer and cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Her music career broke wide in 1989, with pop hits Straight Up and Opposites Attract.

Lythgoe alluded to Variety she would have a recurring role as either a guest judge or a choreographer.

She announced her departure via Twitter on Tuesday, writing: "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return."

Judge Kara DioGuardi was reportedly upset the other female voice was not returning to the show.

"She was really the heart of the show, incredibly nurturing to the contestants," she said.

At the recent two-week long TCA's in Pasadena, California, which wrapped yesterday, Peter Rice, chairman for entertainment, told assembled critics he wanted to find a judge who was "fun and energising and creates some real chemistry between the people on the panel."