'We never thought that we'd still be going after 25 years'

Steps star Claire Richards talks about reuniting with her bandmates, working hard and how her priorities have changed since becoming a mum

- ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES

It’s hard to believe Steps have been around for 25 years, and as Claire Richards prepares to reunite with her bandmates to mark their milestone anniversary, she wonders where the time has gone too.

Claire was just 19 when she joined Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, all now 46, and Lee Latchford-Evans, 47, to form the much-loved band in 1997.

“I don’t think any of us knew or realised that it would be 25 years and we’re still going,” the 44-year-old says. “It’s over half my life that I’ve been in Steps. I’ve been in it longer than I haven’t been in it! I can’t actually believe it’s been 25 years – that’s a long time. When you get to that point in your life and look at your career, it’s quite unbelievable because I don’t feel a day older than I did when we first started. And our relationships with each other are pretty much the same as they were 25 years ago, too.”

After four years in the band, in 2001 H and Claire quit to form a duo of the same name – a partnership that led to three Top 10 singles.

Ten years later, Steps temporarily reformed, before going on hiatus to pursue solo projects and getting back together again in 2017. Claire tells us they are spending a lot of time together now.