Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne revealed her battle with depression Getty

Sharon Osbourne recently surprised her co-hosts on CBS show The Talk by revealing that she's been struggling with depression for 16 years.

The former X Factor judge made the confession to her co-stars on the Talk as the group discussed comedian Wayne Brady's recent revelation that he's struggled with the disorder for several years.

The 62-year-old star admitted that she too battles with depression and has secretly been taking medication for 16 years to help her cope.

She said that sometimes it's so bad she just wants to "rot in bed".

Her co-host Aisha Tyler, responded: "You never talked about that!"

Sharon replied: "Nobody ever asked!"

She added: "Some days are better than others, and some days you feel like you just want to pull the sheets over your head and just stay in that bed and not do a damn thing - except rot."

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The mother of three was also diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002 and after being given the all clear, underwent a double mastectomy in 2012 to prevent it from returning.

Her husband Ozzy, 65, recently spoke out about her inner strength and the horror of watching her get sick.

He told The Sun: "Sharon is the strongest woman I know. When I saw the scans of the colon, I thought, 'No way'. The cancer was so aggressive.

"She had three chemotherapies a month, and after nine months the side-effects got worse and worse.

"She was having seizures - she was like The Exorcist, bouncing around the bed. I thought I was going to lose her.

"I thought it was all going to be too much for her. Then at the end of the nine months the doctor said, 'She's going to need nine months to get over the chemotherapy'. Her response was, I'm cancer free, great. I'm going shopping'."