'Very cute': Derek Gough and Cheryl Cole enjoyed a romantic steak dinner in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night Cheryl Cole's X Factor colleague Brian Friedman has spilled the beans on the Girls Aloud star's burgeoning romance with dancer Derek Hough.
Friends of the couple have so far remained tight-lipped about the nature of the relationship between the two - but now Brian has boasted that he's recently spent time with them and they make a 'great couple'.
The choreographer, 33, revealed that he'd met up with them when he flew out to Los Angeles a fortnight ago.
He told the Daily Mirror: 'I've very close to them both. They're amazing people and make a great couple. They're very, very cute together. Cheryl and Derek both seem incredibly happy right now, that's all I can say.'
Cheryl, 27, and US dancer Derek, 25, have tried to keep their romance under wraps and those close to the pair have been insisting that they are just good friends - despite a string of dates and their shared holiday together in Tanzania, when Cheryl contracted malaria.
It was Hough, a dancer on the U.S. version of Strictly Come Dancing, who comforted Mrs Cole after her split from her estranged husband, Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole, 29.
'Very close': Cheryl Cole and Brian Friedman at the Natioanal Television Awards in London last OctoberAnd Hough was by her side at her £6million Surrey mansion after she was stricken with malaria.
Brian is the first friend to comment publicly on the pair's relationship, which saw them enjoy a romantic dinner in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Cheryl flew out to LA after a month recovering from a particularly nasty bout of the plasmodium falciparum strain of malaraia.
Retail therapy: The pair went on a shopping expedition last week together to upmarket LA mall The Grove She's thought to be staying in Malibu with Hough for a three-week long sunshine recuperation.
The star was forced to pull out of judging the live audition stages of the X Factor and wasn't able to join filming for the Boot Camp stages.
However, the Girls Aloud singer and solo star will be returning to film the judges' houses scenes, along with Dannii Minogue, 38, who recently gave birth to her first child.
Brian confirmed Cheryl and Dannii's return and added: 'I think they will both be pleased with the groups they have been given,' though he wouldn't reveal what they were.
Cheryl was temporarily replaced on the show by Pussycat Doll singer Nicole Scherzinger, 32, but is slated to return to the show at the end of this month.
source: dailymail