Cheryl Cole waves and smiles at the camera with her birthday "surprise" by hubby Ashley Cole. He greeted her at her lunch break during the Birmingham X Factor auditions with flowers, a gift, and balloons - exactly the same things he surprised her with last year.

Needless to say, the Chelsea footballer could have used his imagination a little more to treat his wife on her 26th birthday.

Cheryl was followed by a blonde assistant, who was carrying a dog-shaped birthday cake for Cheryl. A dog cake is fantastic, sure, although it looked too 'realistic' to be eaten.

This is the second time Ashley has arrived on set with Cheryl on her birthday. Looks like the couple's marriage is going stronger than ever since Ashley's alleged infidelity incident 18 months ago.

[via DailyMail]