In the ongoing saga of Cheryl Cole’s firing from the US X Factor, it emerged yesterday that she was told by an unnamed executive at Fox network to lose up to two stone before her debut. The 27-year-old singer quickly enlisted Gwyneth Paltrow’s personal trainer, Tracey Anderson, to get back into shape after a battle with malaria left her with a curvier figure, but found herself out of time, out of favour and heading back to the UK.

To soften the blow of her failed trip, a return to the UK’s show was offered to the troubled star as an olive branch. But it has now been announced that she will not return to the UK X Factor after she became ‘uncontactable’.

X Factor judge, Amanda Holden, said that Cheryl will regret it if she doesn’t return. She told Radio 2: ‘There is dark talk of Cheryl snubbing a return to British X Factor. Please do not do this. You will regret it for a long time.”