When Britney Spears stepped out this week sporting some new and refreshingly lifelike buttery-blond extensions (see above), many took the mane makeover as another baby step forward on her bumpy road to recovery.

But, as the cliché goes, one step forward, two steps back. Seems the conservator-controlled cautionary tale isn't about to let go of former flame Adnan Ghalib as easily as her tangle-prone faux tresses.

Brit and Adnan at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills last year

People says the chin-strip-sporting shutterbug, who hooked up with Brit late last year and often rode shotgun during her many aimless drives around Los Angeles, "is back in her life."

Say it with us: Blerg.

There have been rumors of Ghalib visiting Spears at her gated Beverly Hills estate, but the mag says private tête-à-têtes are "near impossible" because of her string-pulling dad, Jamie, who has court-appointed power to decide who she can and cannot see.

Brit's doctors, adds TMZ, have advised Papa Spears that it would be a bad idea for his still-fragile offspring to date the paparazzo.

Alas, that hasn't stopped them from reaching out and bad-touching each other.

"Adnan and Britney send each other text messages every day," an insider tells the magazine.

The contents are what you'd expect, with Britney, 26, kvetching about being under her dad's thumb, despite the fact that in the weeks before he took control, she'd had a standoff with police which cost her custody of sons Sean Preston, who turns 3 in September, and Jayden James, 22 months and twice ended up in the psychiatric ward.

And even though Britney's continued contact with Ghalib doesn't exactly point to a marked improvement in her decision-making skills, the mole tells People she "can't wait to be on her own."

Meanwhile, more details have surfaced about the video segment Spears began shooting on Wednesday for Madonna's soon-to-launch Sticky & Sweet tour.

E! News reports the short film will kick off each of the Big M's concert stops, with part of the action set in an elevator.

Word is, it will open with Brit, hidden beneath a gray hoodie, getting on the elevator and pacing as it ascends.

Then, she'll start crazily kicking and hitting the walls, followed by some screaming and wall-climbing, until finally she yanks off her hood and declares, "It's Britney, bitch."

(Anyone else uncomfortable with the idea of seeing Spears, who we watched being carted away by paramedics, freak out on camera? Must just be us.)

An on-set source says she was "very professional" during the shoot but "really nervous and kept biting her nails -- but she's doing a good job."

What's more, bubbles the snitch, "She's being incredibly sweet!"

But will her upbeat demeanor continue if she's bound in bandages from head-to-toe?

The London Sun claims the video will also feature a mash-up of Madonna's "Beat Goes On" and Britney's "Piece of Me" that will involve them getting the King Tut treatment.

"Britney and Madonna are unwrapped like mummies, to appear together almost naked apart from tiny leather bondage pants and knee-high boots," alleges the paper. "They then dance closely together, pressing their hands and bodies together. There will be big rows over whether it is sexy, shocking or both."

(Is neither an option? 'Cause we're gonna go with that.)

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