Gwyneth PaltrowChris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly serenaded Cheryl Cole over the phone to secure Girls Aloud as the support act for Coldplay’s summer shows.

A source told the Sun that Chris called each of the Girls in turn - Sarah Harding, Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle - before he and Gwyneth called Cheryl together: “The girls were buzzing to get a personal call from Chris. They never thought he would be such a big fan.

“After hanging up from Chris, Nicola called Cheryl to tell her the good news, but Cheryl had come off the phone from him minutes before and was still in shock.

“Chris roped in his missus to give Cheryl an X-Factor-style sing-song. Gwyn belted out the girls’ hit single ‘Sound of the Underground’ down the phone with Chris joining in.”

Girls Aloud will perform their own arena and stadium tour this spring and summer before joining the rock band for their Wembley gig next September.