Cheryl Cole must have elocution lessons for the US version of 'The X Factor' - or the show could be fined.
The 27-year-old beauty - who hails from Newcastle, North East England - is set for a judging role on the new show but has been ordered by US network Fox to soften her strong regional accent and drop certain phrases that Stateside audiences won't understand.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "If audiences and contestants can't understand her it is actually a regulatory offence.
"Cheryl will be told not to use the word 'babe' to describe a pretty girl. Other key words she's being taught include saying 'pants' and not 'trousers', 'butt' not 'bum' and 'cookies' not 'biscuits'.
"They also want to clamp down on her saying 'pet' which literally means 'animal' in the States."
Cheryl - who has been a judge on the UK version of the programme for three years - is thought to be working with Los Angeles voice coach Bob Corff, who has previously worked with Sharon Osbourne.
Though the judging panel for the new show has not yet been announced, it is believed that programme chief Simon Cowell is interested in offering a role to former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger after she impressed him when she filled in as a guest judge on the UK 'X Factor' last year.
Auditions are said to start in Los Angeles on March 27, before heading to Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York and Seattle.
The show is to offer a $5 million prize - the biggest ever offered on a TV show.