United Kingdom, April 21 -- Jennifer Hudson relished her return to American Idol.

The 44-year-old actress was a finalist on the third season of the series in 2004, and Jennifer recently enjoyed a full-circle moment when she returned to the TV show as a guest judge.

Jennifer - who made her film debut in Dreamgirls in 2006 - told E! News: "To be on the other side of everything is insane, but it puts how much time has passed into perspective. I'm like, 'Wow. Idol was 22 years ago. Dreamgirls was 20 years ago.'"

Jennifer is now thrilled to see other aspiring stars follow in her footsteps.

She said: "I can return as a judge or mentor on Idol and then be on the production side of Dreamgirls to see someone else get a chance."

Jennifer previ...