Artist turns X Factor's Cheryl Cole into new Angel of the North in time for London exhibition

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X FACTOR judge Cheryl Cole has been portrayed as a true angel in a version of the famous Angel of the North statue which will go on display in London next year.

Artist Lee Jones was inspired to portray the 25-year-old Geordie singer as the landmark Angel after watching her as a judge on the ITV talent show.

Cole's emotional reaction to each performance on X Factor, and her empathy with each contestant to the point of tears, has earned her a new legion of fans.

Now the Liverpool-based artist has immortalised the 25-year-old, who grew up in Newcastle and is married to Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole, as a contemporary icon.

"As a Liverpudlian artist I feel the overwhelming warmth of the Northern people towards Cheryl Cole, and I wanted to portray this by depicting her as our very own Angel of the North," he said.

"I see her as a new Icon of popular culture for the 21st century, a beacon of light in these bleak times... a fine example of a Northern lass making good."

Jones's Angel is hand painted, with influences ranging from Warhol's Marilyn silk-screen paintings to Peter Blake's Sergeant Pepper album cover.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Angel of the North, which was sculpted by Antony Gormley.

A maquette of the sculpture made history on the Antiques Road Show recently when it was valued at £1 million.

The original Angel of the North was erected on the site of a disused colliery overlooking the A1 in Gateshead.

In the 10 years since its construction, it has become a symbol of the North East, and one of the most popular public sculptures in the UK.

The version by Lee Jones is of a more slender, feminine angel, rising out of the Gateshead hilltop in the manner of Botticelli's Venus emerging from her shell. Jones's Angel of the North dabs her eyes with a handkerchief to stem a flow of tears.

"Angel" will be exhibited in London from next February.