Brave face: Cheryl Cole made a glamorous appearance at last night's Brit Awards

Fresh from a sunshine break in Thailand and Los Angeles, the Girls Aloud singer made a dazzling appearance on the red carpet, showing off her tanned physique in a super-short, off-one-shoulder canary yellow dress.

Her close friends and fellow band mates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh kept close to her side, along with Sarah Harding - but unusually, there was no sign of Nadine Coyle.

Hours earlier, the 24-year-old reportedly held crisis talks with husband Ashley Cole after he pleaded with her to see him.

It was the first time the pair had seen each other since she escaped to Thailand and then Los Angeles more than two weeks ago.

They spent a hour hauled up in her suite at the Royal Kensington Gardens Hotel where the Chelsea and England defender attempted to salvage their 18 month marriage, according to The Sun.

Ashley, who cheated on Cheryl with a hairdresser, had returned to London from Greece after a Chelsea match against Olympiakos.

A source has said: "Ashley is desperate to win Cheryl back."

But in sign the fate of their marriage still hangs in the balance, Cheryl emerged onto the red carpet following the talks without her wedding ring.

An onlooker told the Sun: "Cheryl was putting on a brave face and looked incredible.

"But she kept going out for cigarettes and pep talks with a male pal and Nicola. She was clearly still hurting."

Girls Aloud were nominated for best British group, but lost out to Arctic Monkeys.

Support: Cheryl was joined by her fellow bandmates Sarah Harding, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts. The fifth member, Nadine Coyle, skipped the event

No ring: despite reportedly holding crisis talks with Ashley just hours earlier, Cheryl headed to the event without her wedding ring