Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of British rock star Ozzy Osbourne, has talked of her "rollercoaster" year in a Christmas Day speech.

The address was shown on Channel 4 in the UK at the same time as the Queen's traditional address on the BBC and ITV1.

Osbourne has become a cult star after the success of The Osbournes fly-on-the-wall series, originally made for MTV.

The programme, currently being shown on Channel 4 in the UK, has made stars of rock star Ozzy, Sharon and troubled teen children Kelly and Jack.

Teenage daughter Kelly has launched a music career

Osbourne was also diagnosed with colon cancer earlier in the year. She is now in remission.

"This year for us has been like a rollercoaster ride and in some ways it's been the best and some ways it's been the worst," she said.

"It's an amazing feeling for us, it's the most amazing thing for me when I go out and people ask me how my children are by name, and 'how's Ozzy doing'?

"I was diagnosed with cancer this year and it's selfish of me to even bring it up, but it's affected our whole family's lives and there's good and bad sides with it.

"So it's been very weird year for us because it's been bitter-sweet."

The Osbourne matriarch told the public: "Kiss your mum, kiss your dad, kiss your brothers and your sisters, and you know, it's very important to love your family, especially at this time of year".

Sharon Osbourne - a rival matriarch to the Queen

She is the ninth person to deliver Channel 4's message, following in the footsteps of Quentin Crisp, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Rory Bremner and Ali G.

The Osbournes is MTV's most popular programme ever and the success shows no sign of abating.

It is currently being shown on Channel 4 in the UK.

A Channel 4 press statement said: "Sharon Osbourne, who shares with the monarch a reputation for hard work, shrewdness and being dotty about her dogs, has never adopted a traditional approach to anything, including her extraordinary family.

"Two mighty matriarchs will confront each other across the nation's turkeys when Sharon Osbourne goes head to head with the Queen."