Now there's a blast from a sordid past. Sam Lufti - who Britney Spears' father managed to get a restraining order against back in 2009 - is insisting that his former pawn appear in court in his defamation trial against her mum, Lynne (she didn't have very nice things to say about him in her book Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Fortune in a Tabloid World). More on that in a minute. First, Lufti's managed to coerce Britney's' former nanny to testify that she has been emotionally manipulated in the conservatorship.

Lourdes Torres - who once cared for The X Factor USA judge's two young sons Sean Preston and Jayden James - is said to be a witness for the singer's former manager Lutfi in his ongoing breach of contract, libel and defamation case against the Spears family.

A source told RadarOnline: 'Lulu is going to be called as a witness by Sam Lutfi's lawyer to testify about what she witnessed when she was a nanny Britney's two children, in the months after the conservatorship was put in place in 2008. Lulu will testify that she believes Britney was being emotionally manipulated in the conservatorship and will blow the lid off of what was really going on with her. Lulu ended up quitting her job because she was so disturbed by what she saw was happening to Britney. Lulu's testimony could have significant impact on the jury because she spent a great deal of time with Britney and her parents after the conservatorship was put in place. Lulu isn't after money, she just wants the truth to come out and it will be shocking."

The 30-year-old singer is reportedly "terrified" she will be forced to take the stand and face her former manager - who recently claimed he found crystal meth in her home - even though the judge has already ruled she can't be forced to testify for medical reasons.

Britney's father Jamie and attorney Andrew Wallet have been in charge of her legal affairs through a court-ordered conservatorship since her breakdown, but Sam is currently fighting for the singer to appear in court in person as he wants to probe her about supposed statements made by her parents claiming he drugged her and cut her phone wires.

Despite her conservators claiming she is not fit enough to testify, Lufti believes her "articulate" recent appearances alongside Simon Cowell on X Factor proves otherwise...