The week in pictures

From an egg-hatching Gaga at the GRAMMYs to chest bearing at the Brits - it's this week's most interesting stories in pictorial form.

Brit Princess

Cheryl Cole nails it on the Red Carpet with her stunning Stella McCartney number. She didn’t scoop any awards, but she certainly turned a lot of heads, including that of her ‘girl crush’ Rihanna – a duet between the two startlets might be in the pipeline!

See also: who wore what at the Brits
Odd couple

Cee Lo Green and Paloma Faith perform at the Brit Awards held at London’s O2 Arena. An odd choice, but fun nonetheless.
Pyrotechno disaster

Plan B shows how desperate he is for attention by incorporating a live man-burning session into his stage act. We don’t know what’s worse, burning a policeman alive or those hideous 90’s-throwback trousers!
Toned down?

Rihanna was asked by Brit organisers to tone her raunchiness down a tad, and that’s exactly what she did. A tad. She still sang about her love of smelly, sexy S&M. Nice. Just cover your kids ears when it hits the TV…
Egg-static!

Lady Gaga couldn’t tone it down if her life depended on it. During the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Award in LA she hatched from an egg before launching into her performance. Weirder and weirder.
Trying too hard?

Rapper Nicki Minaj has been giving Lady Gaga a run for her money with her oddball outfits. But we don’t understand why she turned up to the GRAMMYs looking like an extra from the Flintstones.
Pub of the Year!

The Harp pub in Covent Garden has scooped the CAMRA Pub of the Year award. Okay, so it’s no high brow showbiz accolade, but CAMRA feel that the pub ‘retains its appeal as a true local, even though it’s situated in the tourist heart of the capital’. Fancy a pint?
Minty balls

Northerners will be celebrating the creation of the two billionth Uncle Joes Mint Ball sweet at the original factory in Wigan. These minty toffees, well known for putting hair on your chest, have been in production since 1898 and they are bloomin delicious.
Starling explosion

Millions of starlings create impressive mushroom clouds as they drop in to roost on Avalon Marshes in Somerset. Murmuration (yes it’s a real word, we checked!) of starlings are some of the most spectacular in the country.
Startling (chest) explosion

This is something we wish we hadn’t seen alone, so we felt the need to share the love. Comedian Leigh Frances’s chest explodes from his shirt for all to see during the Brit Awards afterparty in London.
Cute animal of the week

Meet Larry, the official Rat Catcher at Number 10 Downing Street. Larry was rescued from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London and now lives with the Prime Minister. It’s fair to say that he’s gone up in the world!
Big Society? What Big Society?

“If I make my posters trendy enough, do you think they’ll buy it?” asks PM David Cameron, who came under attack this week for harping on and on about his Big Society without actually knowing what it is.
Valentine’s Day

If you want to put your own stamp on your Valentine Day celebrations, you could do worse than an underwater wedding blessing. Kathryn O’Connor and James Oliver received their blessing in the Ocean Reef Display, with giant sea turtles as their bridesmaids. Um, okaaaay…
Next Up: The world's cutest animals
These days you only need to glance at the TV to be swept away by waves of bad news. Floods, recession, increased prices of shoes!