Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole has arrived back in the UK for an appearance at the Brit Awards - and a showdown with her footballer hubby.

The singer, who lives in Oxshott in Elmbridge, was pictured at Heathrow Airport minus her wedding ring after returning from a break in Thailand and Los Angeles.

With her eyes hidden behind sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled down over her face, she wore a stony expression as she made her way to a waiting car with bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.

They headed off to prepare for the Brits ceremony, where Girls Aloud have a nomination for best group.

Cole jetted off to a Thai resort following reports that her husband, Chelsea and England star Ashley Cole, had cheated on her with a Morden blonde.

Hairdresser Aimee Walton claimed to have had a drunken encounter with the footballer in December.

Cole initially rubbished the allegations and said she would not let Walton destroy her marriage.

But within days other women came forward to allege they had enjoyed trysts with the player.