Walsh: 'Don't pick on Cheryl Cole'

Kimberley Walsh has revealed that she thinks it is unfair to pick on Cheryl Cole after what she went through during 2010.

The Girls Aloud singer said that she wishes she could receive the criticism instead so that her bandmate did not have to.

She told Now: "You feel like saying, 'You know what, you have been through enough, let me take this blow instead of you', but you can't. But Cheryl takes everything on the chin."

Last year, Cole divorced footballer Ashley after further claims that he had cheated on her. She also became fatally ill with malaria and was criticised for decisions she made as a judge on The X Factor.

Walsh explained that she believes the British public "knock you down" when you become successful.

She added: "In this country, if you are successful, they can't wait to knock you down. I wish we could champion people who are successful. It's cruel and inhumane to pick on someone who has gone through the things Cheryl has been through in the last year."