Cheryl Cole's career is faltering

Cheryl Cole's future is uncertain after reports that she has been replaced as a judge on the US version of The X Factor.

The star has previously admitted to being daunted at the "really scary" prospect of breaking America and to having doubts about the move.

She told Fearne Cotton last year: "It's kind of really scary, you know? Why would they give a beep what I thought? I think I always feel like that. They don't know me out there and I've got this weird accent and they'd be a bit like, 'what?'."

The latest reports are another twist in a career that began in humble surroundings in her home city of Newcastle.

Early brushes with fame for the young dancer - then known as Cheryl Tweedy - included appearances in local modelling competitions and in television adverts.

Everything changed when she auditioned for television show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and became one of five members of Girls Aloud.

The group became an instant hit with their debut single, Sound Of The Underground, going straight to number one.

Hit followed hit and they even attracted a grudging respect from the critics, being nominated for best British group at the Brit Awards in 2009 and winning best British single for The Promise.

But Cole attracted publicity of the wrong kind in 2003 when she punched toilet attendant Sophie Amogbopka in a Surrey nightclub.

The jury cleared her of racially aggravated assault but found her guilty of assault.

She was sentenced to 120 hours unpaid community service and ordered to pay her victim £500 compensation.

It could have ended her career but she went from strength to strength and saw her public profile rise when she married England footballer Ashley Cole in 2006.

The marriage, which saw the pair likened to the Beckhams, did not last and they announced their separation last year.

By then her career had reached new heights, thanks to her role as a judge on the UK version of The X Factor, plus her blossoming solo chart career which saw her score a number one with her single Fight For This Love. She was voted the sexiest woman in the world in FHM magazine's annual poll.

The move to the US X Factor looked set to send her career to another level but now it appears she may be coming home sooner than expected.