Cheryl's pins are the last thing she needs to be concerned about

THERE'S no denying the fact that Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole is stunning. Regularly topping the sexiest women polls in the lads' mags and gracing the cover of countless glossy titles, her face alone sells – and that's before she puts that enviable pint-sized body on display.

Famed as much for her slim, svelte and super-toned torso as her career and footballer husband Ashley, the starlet is looking thinner than ever, following allegations that her man strayed. It's reported she's shrunk from a petite size eight to a worryingly tiny size four – yet the thin star has just admitted to hating her legs.

"I'm terrible," she moaned in a recent interview. "I don't like my legs. I haven't got much of them for a start. It's just the thing that I don't like, so if I was dressing myself I'd probably cover them up."

It gets worse. Despite her recent weight loss being the subject of almost all of the weekly gossip magazines, Cheryl admits she enjoys reading them because – wait for it – looking at other celebrities' "flaws" make her feel better about herself.

"If somebody sees a bit of cellulite on my legs that's been circled in a magazine and it makes them feel comfortable, I'm happy that I've made that one person at home go 'Cheryl's got cellulite, it's fine'," she says.

"I do it myself. I flick through magazines and see Kate Moss has got cellulite and it makes me feel happier about myself. You can't help it."

Therein lies the problem. Cheryl – like many celebs out there – has it all, yet her body insecurities remain, and clearly being a tiny clothing size is not enough. No wonder the rest of us don't stand a chance and always criticise our reflections.

The average UK dress size is a 16, so if they're big, then what the hell are we? And who gives a fig about the odd dimpling if you could have legs like Kate or Cheryl? Put it into perspective, love.

But at least Cheryl – unlike many of her peers – admits to working hard for her body, slogging it out in the gym and watching what she eats. Hollywood and most other celebrities annoyingly like to pretend their thinness comes naturally and is effortless. Then what about all those new mums who claim the baby weight fell off? We have heard of mummy jobs you know.

So hooray for the likes of ex-EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy. Once a size 16, she morphed into a svelte size eight, brought out a fitness DVD and made an estimated £300,000 as we all ran out to buy it in the hope that it worked for us too.

Rich and fit, what has she done? She's walked away from it all and declared she's "sick of being thin", eschewing a tiny figure and all the work that goes with it for a happy life.

In a world increasingly full of women preoccupied with how they look and being thin, it's refreshing to watch someone walk away and reach for the cream cakes at the end of the day like the rest of us, instead of the treadmill.

Cheryl also admitted her body insecurities started when she entered the celebrity world and was criticised for her weight, which forced her to diet. "When I first started in the band, reading all the criticism was really hard," she says.

"At home, to be a size eight or ten was normal, but I was reading things saying, 'Look how much weight she's put on'.

"It was hard to take in the beginning, but there never has, and never will be, a perfect person."

So maybe Cheryl should take inspiration from Natalie and practice what she preaches. That and keep her gob shut over her legs. After all, I – like probably every woman in the country – would kill for pins like that any day.