Cheryl Cole tops 'most inspirational' poll

Cheryl Cole is considered to be Britain's most inspirational woman, a new poll has revealed.

The X Factor judge beat off competition from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who took second place in the Mecca Bingo survey. Queen Elizabeth finished third in the top ten list of positive role models for women.

Last year, Cole topped a list of the worst examples set to British women, leading Mecca's Lesly Hughes to comment: "It is interesting to see how much public opinion of Cheryl has changed."

Earlier this year, the Girls Aloud singer topped a poll to find the UK's favourite fantasy body.