Singer Cheryl has described her first experience of motherhood as “the best six months of my life”.

The former Girls Aloud member, 34, gave birth to her first child, Bear, with singer Liam Payne, in March.

She told The Sun newspaper of becoming a mum: “It changes your life completely but in the most amazing way. But I’ve had the best six months of my life. Really.”

But, she said: “I hated being pregnant. A lot of stuff went on and I just didn’t enjoy it.”

Cheryl has returned to the spotlight following her recent break from public life, by taking on a temporary stint in her former job on the X Factor panel.

She is joining Simon Cowell at his home in France to act as guest judge and help him narrow down contestants for the ITV contest.

Speaking of her time away from the cameras, she said: “It’s been actually over a year but it’s been perfect for me because it’s reset the mind-frame. And I feel actually better coming back.

“I feel more relaxed, I just feel I’ve sat into my own skin. I feel so good.”

Payne and Cheryl met on the show when the now 24-year-old auditioned as a solo contestant before becoming part of the hit boyband One Direction.

Asked how they decided on the name for their first born – which took several weeks to come up with – Cheryl joked that Bear stood for “unbearable”.