Cheryl and Liam Payne made a dirty joke at the Brits

Cheryl and Liam Payne made presenter Jack Whitehall blush when they made a quip about their sex life live on the air during the Brit Awards.

The couple had arrived at the music awards ceremony earlier in the evening, putting on a defiant display to fend off rumours of a possible split.

During the live show, Whitehall sat down with Cheryl and Payne to speak about the One Direction singer's performance later in the evening of his Fifty Shades Freed song For You with Rita Ora.

Whitehall said: "You're performing later, you're doing a performance from the Fifty Shades movie, it sounds pretty saucy - is there a safe word?"

Payne pointed at Cheryl and joked: "She knows that."

Cheryl then leaned into the microphone and said that the safe word is "don't stop".

Cheryl and Payne laughed as a stunned Whitehall said: "Wow, OK... It's time for a break!"

Whitehall had also asked them how their "date night" was going, and made a joke about Payne's One Direction bandmate Niall Horan, suggesting that he is their "little one" at home.

On the red carpet before the show, the couple held hands and gazed into each other's eyes as they posed for pictures.

In recent days, they have been at the centre of rumours that they are on the verge of splitting up.

On Tuesday, 34-year-old Cheryl had briefly responded to the speculation, declaring that "none of that matters" as she opened a Prince's Trust centre in Newcastle.

On the red carpet, Cheryl sported a one-sleeved black mini dress with a ruffled detail across the chest and down the arm.

She held up a white rose in support of the anti-sexual harassment campaign Time's Up that has made its way to the Brits after being a fixture at film award ceremonies the Baftas and the Golden Globes.

Payne, who missed out on the two awards he was nominated for - British single and British artist video of the year - opted for a pale grey suit jacket and black trousers.

Cheryl and Payne welcomed their son Bear in March last year after being an item since 2016.

They first met on The X Factor in 2008 when Cheryl was a judge and Payne auditioned as a solo contestant, two years before becoming part of the hit boyband One Direction on the programme.