Cheryl Cole paid the scary price of fame yesterday after she was hassled by an overly-eager fan who wouldn’t let go of her.

The pop star was grabbed by the persistent woman as she arrived at her hotel in Birmingham after a long day filming the X Factor auditions.

As she got out of her car and made her way into the building, the female fan pushed through the press cameras and grabbed Cheryl’s wrist.

Clutching a marker pen, she shoved a CD of Cheryl’s album 3 Words into the singer’s face and demanded she sign it.

According to onlookers, she grabbed 26-year-old Cheryl and refused to let go as she begged her to autograph her album cover.

Eventually, Cheryl’s people managed to prise the woman away as they fought their way through the throng.

But Cheryl appeared to have been left very shaken by the incident and looked scared as she was swiftly ushered into the safety and privacy of her hotel room by her security.

The incident happened after a long day of filming the second round of auditions in Birmingham where Cheryl and her fellow judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh were joined by guest judge Natalie Imbruglia.

Cheryl kept her outfit chic but simple, but still looked her usual glamorous self even in a pair of skinny jeans.

It was a far cry from the leopard-print prom dress she wore for the first round of X Factor auditions in Glasgow last week.

And yesterday she found herself outdone in the fashion stakes by Imbruglia, 35, who made a colourful and glamorous impression in an unusual fuchsia mini-dress and killer heels.

The Girls Aloud star went for a smart/casual look in a pair of grey skinny jeans, a cream and grey waistcoat and a heavy necklace.

But she gave her ensemble a bit of glamour with an expensive pair of Christian Louboutin peep-toe studded heels.

As well as being the only two singers on the judging panel with music moguls Cowell, 50, and Walsh, 57, Imbruglia and Cole have both modelled for L’Oreal.

Former Neighbours beauty Imbruglia starred in ads for the beauty giant from 2002 until 2007, while Cole signed a £500,000 deal to represent the brand in the UK last August.

Australian singer Imbruglia, 35, is the second guest judge to stand in for pregnant Dannii Minogue, who is preparing to give birth to her first child next month.

Her two day stint at the Brummie live auditions at the LG Arena will serve as a warm-up for her new role as a judge on the Australian X Factor.

Imbruglia will join Ronan Keating, Aussie radio personality Kyle Sandilands and Australian Idol 2003 winner Guy Sebastian on the panel later this year.

She will be hoping her guest judging stint will be more successful than Halliwell’s on Wednesday, who was booed by some members of the Glasgow audience.

The singer is reported to have angered fans soon after she began in her role as guest judge, by going against the crowd and refusing to put through a singer called Katie when she had the casting vote.

A source told the Daily Mirror: ‘Geri had the chance to please the crowd and many were shouting Katie’s name. But Geri ignored them and turned Katie down, causing the crowd to go crazy.

‘Eventually they invited Katie back to try again, but Geri never recovered from that.’

Following Halliwell and Imbruglia, Katy Perry and Pixie Lott will also appear on the panel.

The judges will be in London from 21-24 June, Dublin on 28 June, Cardiff on 2 July and Manchester from 9-11 July.

Source