She’s received rave reviews for her leading role in 2:22 A Ghost Story, with critics bestowing high praise for “delivering a dose of pure star power” to the spooky show.
But Cheryl’s West End performance was slightly tainted by commentary around her markedly different facial features last week, with pap shots of her leaving the theatre prompting speculation that she has gone under the knife.
And now insiders say, as her run in A Ghost Story looks to draw to a close at the end of April, Cheryl, 39, is looking to the future and feeling anxious.
“Cheryl is really feeling the pressure right now, and it’s all thanks to how well she’s been doing on the stage,” a source tells Closer. “She should be feeling on top of the world, but the heartbreaking truth is, she’s a bit scared about it all. She has confessed to pals about suddenly being under pressure to look youthful, as casting directors are desperate to sign her up for her first big acting role on screen.”
Mum-of-one Cheryl rose to fame as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in Girls Aloud, then went on to become the nation’s sweetheart as a judge on The X Factor in 2008 before launching her solo career a year later.
Following a musical hiatus, Cheryl released comeback single Love Made Me Do It in 2018, a year after she welcomed her son Bear with ex-boyfriend Liam Payne.
But the music video became an opportunity for fans to voice their concerns over her appearance, with many speculating that she’d had plastic surgery. “What’s sad is that she really didn’t need it,” lamented one fan.
In an interview, Cheryl insisted that her look changing was down to becoming a mum, saying, “My whole body, even my face, everything’s changed since Bear was born. But I feel like I’m better than who I was. I don’t care what my body looks like in that respect. I’m not obsessed about it.”
But a source says, “Cheryl is excited about a lot of the offers she’s been getting and the prospect of a brand-new career in the TV acting world. A lot of casting agents feel she’s got the chops to handle a gritty, dark drama, and obviously they don’t want her to look like she’s just stepped off the set of a talent show with Simon Cowell.
“They want the audience to see her in a whole new light.In the past, she’s been used to having very flattering lighting on The X Factor or in a L’Oréal commercial. You spend hours in hair and make-up to look like a superstar and then you have a top lighting technician enhance you even further on screen. The idea of doing anything gritty or without make-up terrifies her – but this is a lot of what she’s been offered.”
Former One Direction singer Liam has also been hitting headlines recently with his strikingly different look, which has left many commenting on his angular jawline and raising the possibility that he has had a “full face job”.
But the source adds that Cheryl’s pals are rallying around her in a bid to convince her she doesn’t need anything done.
“They have begged her not to mess with her face as they fear it could be a slippery slope – but she’s keenly aware that the acting world is very competitive and all about your looks,” an insider says.
“It feels as though everywhere Cheryl looks, her peers are having a little something done to give their image that boost that’s required to shine under the spotlight. She feels this could be her last chance to really show what she’s capable of.”