Cheryl Tweedy looking down leaving a venue
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Inside Cheryl Tweedy’s scandals – sacked by Simon Cowell, assault conviction, homeless brother and tax avoidance bill

Cheryl has had a rough ride in the spotlight at times

Cheryl Tweedy – who is on Saturday Night Takeaway tonight (Saturday, April 13) – has been in the spotlight since finding fame in 2002 on Popstars.

However, it hasn’t always been an easy ride for the star, and she’s been hit with several scandals over the years. Here’s an inside look at some of them…

Cheryl Tweedy young singing
Cheryl was charged with assault in the early 2000s (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Assault conviction

Back in 2003, after finding fame with Girls Aloud having won Popstars: The Rivals, Cheryl was involved in an altercation that saw her charged with assault.

The incident took place during a night out in Surrey. Cheryl, who was 20 at the time, got into a fight with toilet attendant Sophie Amogbokpa.

Cheryl had tried to take a lollipop, however, Amogobokpa insisted that she pay. An argument developed, which led to Cheryl punching the toilet attendant.

In October 2003, Cheryl was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm but was cleared of the racially aggravated assault charge.

She was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, ordered to pay the victim £500, as well as £3,000 in prosecution costs.

Cheryl smiling in the X-Factor US promo
Cheryl was sacked from the US X Factor after 3 weeks (Credit: SplashNews.com)

X Factor sacking of Cheryl Tweedy

In 2008, Cheryl’s fame skyrocketed when she joined the judging panel on the X Factor.

In her first series, Alexandra Burke, whom she was mentoring, won the show. The following year, in 2009, Joe McElderry won.

In 2011, Simon Cowell signed Cheryl up as judge on the X-Factor USA. However, it proved to be very short-lived stint, with Cheryl departing the show after just three weeks.

Producers reportedly cited her thick Geordie accent and “lack of charisma” as the reasonings behind her sacking.

Cheryl sued the producers of the US version of The X Factor for £1.4m. She won an undisclosed amount in 2013.

Her sacking saw her fail to return to the UK version of the show and saw her friendship with Simon Cowell take a hit.

Cheryl did eventually come back to the show in 2014 and 2015.

Cheryl Tweedy speaking from the set of 2:22
Cheryl’s brother is homeless (Credit: ITV)

Cheryl Tweedy and her homeless brother

In 2021, it was revealed that Cheryl’s older brother, Andrew Tweedy was homeless and living in a tent on the streets.

Speaking to The Sun at the time, Andrew claimed Cheryl “probably won’t even know” that he’s living on the streets.

This is despite the singer reportedly helping fund a rehab stint for her older brother.

“I’ve been begging here for more than three months and it’s something that has really broken my heart,” Andrew told the publication.

“I’ve got so much [bleep]ing pride. With the family I’ve got, I shouldn’t be here. It’s horrible,” he then continued.

Andrew had reportedly appeared in court 50 times.

In 1996, he was sent to a Young Offenders Institution for stabbing two students in a street fight. He served three years. In 2005, he was sentenced to four years in prison over the mugging of a teenager. He jumped bail and spent five weeks on the run after this.

In 2011, he was jailed again, this time for six years, for the armed robbery of a Post Office.

Cheryl Cole smiling on The One Show
Cheryl lost a case against the government in 2022 (Credit: BBC)

Tax avoidance

In 2022, it was reported that Cheryl was set to be hit with a big tax avoidance bill.

It was claimed that she had lost a long-standing test case against the taxman. It came after a judge found her firm, CC Entertainments, culpable of ‘straightforward profit extraction’ with an artificial employee bonus scheme.

The artificial employee bonus scheme meant her company paid capital gains tax instead of income tax and National Insurance.

The judge ruled in favour of the taxman, meaning HMRC could demand the singer pay historical tax, including compound interest. However, Cheryl was not fined and didn’t have to pay any penalties.

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Read more: The ups and downs of Liam Payne and Cheryl’s relationship as they co-parent son Bear

Saturday Night Takeaway airs tonight (Saturday, April 13) at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

EXCLUSIVE: Cheryl Cole Makes Her West End Debut In New Thriller '2:22 A Ghost Story' | Lorraine

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer