POP princess Cheryl Cole has pulled out of next month’s V Festival and the boot camp stage of hit TV show The X Factor due to her ongoing fight with malaria.

The 27-year-old star contracted the disease on a trip to Tanzania last month, despite taking malaria tablets.

A spokeswoman said last night that she was “making good progress” but following medical advice she would not be able to take part in the boot camp stage of the X Factor or perform at V.

She was due to appear at the festival at Hylands Park in Chelmsford on August 21 and at Weston Park on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border, the following day.