Who likes short shorts? Nicola Roberts is daring in a VERY brief pair of hot pants out on the town

By Holly Thomas

No wonder she's showing them off! Nicola Roberts wore her stunning legs bare in a pair of denim hotpants for a trip to Mayfair's Mahiki club last night

The youngest member of Girls Aloud, Nicola Roberts used to be known as one of the shyer members of the group.

But it appears that with solo success the Beat Of My Drum star has grown in confidence- and she isn't afraid to show it.

The 26-year-old showed off her stunning legs with a minuscule pair of hot pants as she left London's Mahiki nightclub last night.

She teamed her denim shorts with a cool fleece-lined leather jacket, and accentuated her slender pins with heeled leopard print ankle boots.

She was joined by her boyfriend of three years, Dubai boat seller Charlie Fennell.

It appears that the night out was something of an impulse decision to judge from her Twitter page.

Nicola wrote earlier in the afternoon: 'London bound! Charged Mac, new batteries 4 my Beats! Do I listen 2 music that makes me stay in watch the jungle or music that gets me out2play'

Impromptu night out: The singer had been debating on her Twitter page as to whether she was in the mood to dance

The singer has certainly grown in confidence in recent years, recently admitting to the Mail On Sunday's Live magazine: 'You have to be nice to everyone in this business - even people who call you ugly.'

'You have to put grudges to one side. People have said truly horrible things about me. I don’t think in terms of forgiveness; I just try to be professional about it.'

'When I meet people who’ve called me ugly or whatever, I smile through it. I’m not going to make an issue of it.'

Come out of her shell: Formerly shy Nicola flashed a smile at the cameras

'I haven’t got it in me to be as nasty to other people as some people have been to me. I would never degrade myself by bringing myself down to their level. I would never frivolously slag someone off.'

Nicola confessed that she believes she grew up much to fast, saying: 'I was a successful pop star, but I was also this bashful girl from Runcorn.'

'I went straight from school into the big world of Girls Aloud. Looking back, it was a crazy transition.'