Cheryl has announced she will not record the final episodes of her BBC Sounds podcast, following the death of former Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding.
The former X Factor judge, 38, launched You, Me & R&B, which explored her life-long love of the genre and highlighted its important figures, this summer.
She said she had been due to record the final batch of episodes around the time Harding died in September, aged 39, after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Writing on her Instagram Stories, Cheryl said she had initially taken a break from recording to mourn her friend, but that she now did not feel it was right to return to the show.
She said: “I hope you’re all doing great! I’ve seen some of your messages asking about the podcast with BBC Sounds and I wanted to let you all know that I decided not to record the last few episodes.
“It was to be recorded around the same time as Sarah’s passing. I took a break from everything then including the series and it just didn’t feel right to revisit it again.
“I hope you understand and thank you again for all of your love and support these past couple of months.”
Cheryl and the BBC faced criticism following news the singer would host a podcast about R&B music, with 1Xtra DJs Yasmin Evans and DJ Ace, suggesting the role should have gone to a black artist given the genre’s history.
Harding’s death on September 5th prompted an outpouring of tributes from music industry figures and her former Girls Aloud bandmates Cheryl, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and Nadine Coyle.
The girl group produced five studio albums during their time together, which included the hit tracks Sound Of The Underground and The Promise.
