‘My little girl's dream is to see Mummy do Strictly!'

The former Spice Girl talks about hitting the ballroom, and why she doesn’t regret not being part of the latest reunion…

Melanie Chisholm is as charming as she is frank and, hearing her soft Liverpudlian tones down the phone, it’s easy to forget she was once a chart topping Spice Girl, selling 80 million records worldwide. Further success as a solo artist saw her notch up seven UK Top 10s before taking time out to raise her daughter Scarlet, now eight. after splitting from Scarlet’s father Thomas Starr in 2012, mel is now ‘happy and settled’ in a new relationship, as she prepares for an exciting new UK tour with her seventh album, Version Of Me. Speaking exclusively to Woman, mel C, who turns 43 this week, sets the record straight about those Spice Girl reunion rumours and feeling happier in her forties…

‘My mum and dad divorced when I was two, and as a teenager I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. 

I have a very loving family with step siblings and half-siblings, but I had this thing where both my parents remarried and had kids, and I always felt like a bit of a spare part. I was ambitious and loved performing, and I think craving fame was to do with wanting to be accepted and find my place in the world.’

‘Whenever I think back to the 90s, I like to remember the early days of the Spice Girls, before the success.