IN 2010 Cheryl Cole was lying, sweat pouring out of her, in the intensive care ward of a tropical diseases hospital battling a potentially fatal bout of malaria.
It was the last of a series of cruel twists in the ultimate rags-to-riches tale of a stunning working-class Geordie.
She had money, fame, good looks and a hugely successful career, plus she was married to England soccer star Ashley Cole.
But just like the plot of a classic chick-lit novel, it all unravelled spectacularly. It has taken three years to get the show back on the road.
Cheryl quietly picked up the pieces of her broken personal life, took a big career blow from X Factor USA on the chin, and is about to confine the bad memories to the past with a huge celebration in the US to mark her milestone 30th birthday today.
And she has told her closest friends and family that there is one present she wants more than anything in the world — to start her own family.