Cheryl asks her mum to be a lodger

The 23-year-old beauty has enlisted the help of her mother Joan to take care of her, Chelsea ace Ashley and their two dogs.

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Mummy's girl: The Girls Aloud singer has asked mum Joan to move in to look after her dogs while she and footballer husband Ashley are away

Cheryl revealed that Joan has moved south from the Tweedys' home city of Newcastle because she doesn't want a stranger coming in to look after the multi-million pound Hertfordshire house she and Cole, 25, bought last summer.

She added: "My mum has come down so when me and Ashley are away she can look after our dogs. I love having her down here because we are so close."

Cheryl's footballer husband Ashley Cole is said to be delighted to be living with mother-in-law Joan at their Hertfordshire mansion

Career girl Cheryl insists she is not a typical footballer's wife - but her new household set-up mirrors a storyline from the OTT television show Footballers' Wives in which Jackie Pascoe, played by Gillian Taylforth, was the mother of Kyle (Gary Lucy).

She lived with him and his wife Chardonnay, constantly interfering in their marriage.

Thankfully we hear that both Coles get on a lot better with Joan. Our source says: "Ashley adores Joan, they have a very good relationship.

She is very much part of their family now, but she does have to nip back up north occasionally and when she goes Cheryl misses her a lot."

Joan still has to return to Newcastle because her husband Gary and her two younger sons still live in the family home there.

Cheryl decided to move her mother in when she was laid up after an operation on her toe. Her pets became used to having someone around and she didn't want to leave them alone again due to the busy schedules she and Ashley have.

And they are set to get even more hectic. Contrary to reports that Girls Aloud will split this summer, they are rehearsing for their sell-out British tour before going back into the studio to record a new album.