Bradford pop princess Kimberley Walsh and her Girls Aloud bandmates are NOT going to split this year.

One national newspaper reported that the band - comprising Allerton-born Kimberley, Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts - would go their separate ways after the girls' tour ends in May.

The tabloid quoted an "insider" who apparently said: "The split in summer is definite now. It's something the girls have all agreed on. They want to finish and then try something different."

The paper also speculated that they would re-form in five years, which would "virtually guarantee them a windfall to the tune of £20 million".

But Kimberley's dad John today said the claims were "utter nonsense".

He said: "It's just a fantasy. The national papers put this story out every now and again but it is just utter nonsense. To be honest, Kimberley gets sick to death of reading them."

Kimberley, 26, returned to Bradford over Christmas and spent last night's New Year's Eve festivities in New York.

The article said that some of the girls would try solo singing careers while Kimberley planned to go into TV.

An upcoming TV special called Girls Aloud - Passions shows the band members trying out things they've always wanted to do - Kimberley is seen taking on a role in a West End version of the hit stage show Les Miserables.

Dad John added: "The band might well have a break of a few weeks or something, but that wouldn't be until the end of the year. If Kimberley ever tells me that Girls Aloud is splitting up properly, then she would want Telegraph & Argus readers to have the proper story direct from her.

"Things get twisted so much. Kimberley told a magazine a while ago that they wanted to make the young girls who were fans of the band to feel good about their body shapes, and the next thing was a newspaper was reporting that she was about to launch a fitness video, which was rubbish.

"I suppose she might think the idea about getting £20 million in five years would be nice, though!"

Girls Aloud, who were formed from the reality TV talent show Pop Stars: The Rivals in 2002, are in the middle of a tour to promote their latest album Tangled Up.

Their single, Call the Shots, was the band's 16th consecutive top ten hit. They also had a cameo in movie St Trinian's.

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