Nadine Coyle insists her lost passport was the sole reason for her absence from the BRIT Awards on Wednesday.

The Girls Aloud beauty was due to fly from Los Angeles to join her bandmates at the prestigious London bash but couldn't find her official identification.

So instead of attending the bash - where the group were nominated for Best British Band - Nadine was forced to remain in the US while Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh partied.

She said: "I just wanted to let all the fans know how frustrating it is losing your passport. I lost it somewhere over here and wasn't able to make it back for show. That's the only reason I wasn't there! Hello? I'd love to have spent the night with my girls and watch Amy, Kylie and Rihanna perform."

Although Girls Aloud lost out on the award to the Arctic Monkeys, Nadine revealed she is pleased the indie band won.

She wrote on the girls' official website: "It's a shame we didn't win Best British Band, but we're big fans of Arctic Monkeys so we're happy it was them. Any indie band that covers our song 'Love Machine' is alright by us!"

Sources had previously claimed Nadine's absence from the ceremony was a sign she wanted to quit the band.