Little Mix thank their exes for helping them to their first Brit Award

The former X Factor winners won the prestigious prize for their hit track Shout Out To My Ex, but were admittedly stunned to receive the award.

Band member Jade Thirlwall, from South Shields, said they were "chin-wagging" at their table, and that they were unsure how to get to the stage because they did not expect to win.

She added, lifting up the Brit Award: "Cheers to our exes... this is for you lads."

The girls fended off competition from former One Direction star Zayn Malik - Little Mix star Perrie Edwards' ex-fiance - to win the prize, as well as the likes of Coldplay, Calvin Harris and Clean Bandit.

Malik, whose split from Edwards was the inspiration for Little Mix's catchy pop track, had been nominated for his song Pillowtalk, but was not present at the ceremony.

Earlier in the evening, Little Mix opened the show with an explosive rendition of the song.

Thirlwall, fellow South Shields girl Edwards, and bandmates Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock were carried onto the stage by male dancers painted silver ahead of their elaborate, futuristic performance.

For fans, though, the most exciting element of their Brit Awards opener was that each of the band members sported bright blonde wigs.

One enthusiastic fan wrote on Twitter: "Blonde Little Mix is something I never thought I needed in life until now."

Another said: "Thank God for whoever thought blonde Little Mix would be a good idea because I'll never be the same."

One fan wrote that seeing them all as blondes was "a dream come true", while another Little Mix devotee came up with a theory behind their nearly-matching looks.

"Did they all dress in blonde wigs to look more like Perrie to reinforce the Zayn narrative?" they wrote.