Rachel: ‘Lack of sleep made me cry!’

Rachel Stevens tells about suffering from the baby blues, and admits motherhood is overwhelming at times…

new! Magazine haven’t had a good old chinwag with singer Rachel Stevens for ages.

And since Rachel Stevens’ daughter Amelie has just turned one, they decided it was about time they had a catch-up.

Having wed her property-developer husband Alex Bourne in August 2009, the 33 year old gave birth in November last year and has spent the last 12 months navigating the tricky world of motherhood.

Here, the former Strictly Come Dancing star opens up about how becoming a parent has affected her relationship, getting back in shape and her big comeback plans…

Amelie was one last week. How did you celebrate?
We had a big party with family a few days before and, on the actual day, we had a little tea party. We bought her a walker as she is just starting to pull herself up, and a xylophone.

How are you finding life as a mum?
I love it. It’s a massive learning experience and is so overwhelming for the first three months. I didn’t know what I was doing but I had loads of support.

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Posted: November 24th, 2011

Rachel Stevens Q&A

Rachel Stevens has been quite quiet on the career front since becoming a mother but she is back fronting a new capaign for Baileys.

Female First caught up with her to talk about the campaign and she reveals that she is back in the studio working on some new material.

- Ok so, you’re working on a new campaign with Baileys can you tell me a little bit more about it?

Yes, Baileys have got a new initiative which is called ‘Add a Little Something’ and it’s all about kind of getting girls together for a girls’ night. I love my girls’ nights and I love Baileys so it just felt like a really good fit.

Apparently 73% of women never or only get together on special occasions for girly nights so it felt like a really great thing to get involved in and inspire women to get together, because I’m all about getting together with my girls and having a really lovely night together!

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Jo and Bradley to turn on town’s lights

Two pop stars will be Reaching to turn on South Tyneside’s festive lights this Christmas.

Jo O’Meara and Bradley McIntosh from S Club have the honour of turning South Shields into a winter wonderland next Saturday.

The pair, who first shot to fame in 1999, will also be entertaining crowds with hits including Reach, Never Had a Dream Come True and Don’t Stop Movin’.

However, it’s not the first time the singers, who now perform as a double act, have visited the town.

Back in 2009 they took part in the South Tyneside Summer festival at Bents Park.

The Mayor of South Tyneside, Coun Jim Sewell, and the Mayoress, his wife Rosemary, will help out.

Coun Sewell said: “Our Christmas lights are spectacular and once they are all switched on, they will certainly bring a lot of festive cheer to residents and visitors in the borough.

“The switch-on events are always very popular with residents and visitors and have a fantastic atmosphere.

“I’m really looking forward to each of them.

“We are particularly delighted that Bradley and Jo from S Club will be performing the switch-on in South Shields town centre.

“I’m sure people will give them a really warm welcome.”

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Posted: November 19th, 2011

Rachel Stevens in fruit medley

Rachel Stevens has recorded a collection of songs about fruit and veg to encourage kids to eat their five-a-day.

The former S Club 7 star has performed a number of well-known nursery rhymes with a food twist to help youngsters to get into healthy eating habits.

The songs are available as free downloads from children’s food firm Ella’s Kitchen following research which showed that engaging with fruit and vegetables outside meal-times encouraged them to eat.

The firm worked with the University of Reading and found that looking at food, touching it, smelling it and hearing songs or stories about foodstuff all had an impact on consumption.

Rachel – whose chart hits have included Reach, Don’t Stop Moving and Sweet Dreams My LA Ex – has recorded five “tasty tunes”, including revamps of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and The Hokey-Cokey.

The mother-of-one said: “As a new mum, I’m always looking for exciting ways to encourage my daughter to try new foods, especially greens.

“I hope tasty tunes help lots of parents sing about fruit and vegetables as part of their little one’s everyday playtime.”

She launched the songs with a one-off gig at a nursery in Streatham, south London.

The songs are available to download for free at ellaskitchen.co.uk/

S Club Jo is back to be pride of the show

A former S Club 7 star is set to headline Doncaster’s gay pride event later this year.

Jo O’Meara will be the big name at the August 20 event at the Keepmoat Stadium, taking part in the seven hour festival for the second year.

Organisers have also revealed a number of other acts including tribute singers and high profile local bands.

Jo performed with former S Club bandmates Paul Cattermole and Bradley McIntosh at last year’s Pride.

A spokeswoman said they received probably the best feedback of any performer ever at Doncaster Pride.

Former S Club 7 members Paul Cattermole, Jo O'Meara, Bradley McIntosh, performing at last year's Doncaster Gay Pride Festival.

She said: “Chants of ‘S Club, S Club’ echoed around the venue before, during and after the 30 minute performance and the two encores – never known in Pride history.

“She is ‘thrilled’ to be coming back to Doncaster again and we know the Pride crowd will make her as welcome as they did last year.”

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Posted: July 30th, 2011

Rachel and Amelie out for lunch

It may not look dignified, but it’s a pose every mother and father will be familiar with.

And while it’s a tiring feat running around after your offspring every second of the day, maybe a trip to the toilet was worth the extra effort for Rachel Stevens.

The former S Club 7 singer was enjoying a spot of lunch, when she took a whiff of her daughter’s bottom to see if her nappy needed changing.

The 33-year-old raised little Amelie in the air at the Hampstead eaterie and had a sniff to see if she had done the deed.

While endearing and touching, to a degree, it was enough to put her friends off their food as she dined with other mummies at the lunch table.

Rachel, who gave birth just before Christmas, also seemed to have had a wardrobe overhaul by opting for something a little more ‘mumsy’.

The Strictly Come Dancing contestant stepped out in short beige trousers that were more Primark than Prada, and a white T-shirt and blue cardigan.
The girls had clearly indulged in some shopping earlier in the day, with a large Gap bag hanging on the back of the buggy.

The brunette, who was once engaged to Hollyoaks actor Jeremy Edwards, welcomed her first child into the world on November 16.

She married husband Alex Bourne in August 2009, after postponing their wedding by almost a year due to her reality TV show commitments.

Rachel is rumoured to be taking part in new Channel 5 series of Celebrity Big Brother in a bid to boost her flagging television career.

Mum and dad date night at Janet Jackson concert for Rachel Stevens and Alex

Most people have that one item in their wardrobe that they feel great in and turn to time and time again for a fashion fix.

For Rachel Stevens, it is undoubtedly her bright red trousers, which she has been spotted in several times in recent weeks.

The former S Club star wheeled out the old favourites for a date night with husband Alex Bourne to see Janet Jackson perform at Royal Albert Hall.

Rachel, 33, wore the bright cropped trousers with nude heels, a leopard print vest and black blazer.

Alex matched his wife’s eye-catching ensemble in an electric blue jumper over a shirt and black jeans.

Outside the venue the couple, enjoying a night off from diaper duty with seven-month-old baby Amelie, bumped into Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon.

The two singers stopped for a chat, and embraced warmly as they parted ways.

Alesha told followers on Twitter that she is enjoying a music-filled week, looking forward to seeing Take That at Wembley on Saturday night.

Boy band JLS were also in the audience to cheer Jackson on during her Number Ones: Up Close & Personal Tour.

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Posted: July 1st, 2011

Hannah hoping for viewers for Primeval

Primeval star Hannah Spearritt says she hopes people will watch the new series when it switches from mainstream TV to digital.

The dinosaur series has had an unsteady couple of years after ITV decided it was too expensive to fund. Due to its global popularity it was revived by several investors, including UKTV, who helped fund the latest series – the fifth. That means its premiere is on digital TV before it’s shown on ITV1 in 2012.

Spearritt, who used to be in S Club 7, plays Abby Maitland alongside real life boyfriend Andrew-Lee Potts. She’s not concerned by the shift to a less viewed channel though.

She said: “You will get the avid fans who go over to Watch [the digital TV channel]. For those who’ve not got Watch, it will be shown on ITV next year. The brilliant thing is we got this series made. I hope for Watch’s sake it gets the viewers they want.”

Both Hannah Spearritt and Andrew Lee Potts have been in the show since the first series.It features a team of scientists who battle prehistoric dinosaurs and futuristic creatures and was originally shown in a prime-time slot on Saturday night.

The first two series achieved an average of more than six million viewers.

Andrew Lee Potts said: “When we started out the [viewing] figures were a lot more important than they are to us now because we wanted the show to continue. But because of its global popularity it’s not as important now.”

The show has been sold to 30 countries around the world and has a solid fan base in the US.

Hannah and Andrew also began their off-screen relationship while filming the show.

“It’s important to spend time apart because we work together so much,” he said. “We want to spend time with our friends and stuff but we do attract each other. Give us a day apart and we do want to see each other again.”

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Posted: May 26th, 2011