Mel B confirms Spice Girls are ‘definitely doing something’ this year
Naomi Clarke, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Melanie B has confirmed the Spice Girls are “definitely doing something” this year after the group marked the 30th anniversary of their first audition earlier this month.
The pop group, which formed in 1994, went on to dominate the charts with hits such as Wannabe, Who Do You Think You Are? and Viva Forever.
In 2019, the beloved girl band of Mel Brown, Geri Halliwell, Mel Chisholm, and Emma Bunton – but minus Victoria Beckham – got back together for a string of tour dates across the UK and Ireland.
It was the first time the Spice Girls had performed together since the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.
Discussing the future of the group on ITV’s Loose Women on International Women’s Day, Brown said: “We are definitely doing something… I’m probably going to get told off but I’ve said it, there we go! We are doing something this year.”
The singer, also known as Mel B or Scary Spice, added that she was going to be “in trouble now” for revealing the news.
At the beginning of the year, a new set of stamps was announced by Royal Mail to mark 30 years of the group.
In 2022, the group re-released their Spice album to mark 25 years since its debut.
Brown also spoke on the ITV chat show about domestic abuse as she praised the show for launching their new Facing It Together campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the issue.
The pop star filed for divorce from Hollywood movie producer Stephen Belafonte in March 2017, following allegations of abuse he has repeatedly denied.
In 2018, the 48-year-old from West Yorkshire published her memoir Brutally Honest, which detailed her 10-year marriage with Belafonte.
Brown said: “I think when it comes to abuse, abuse can happen to anybody. It doesn’t have an age limit, it doesn’t have a colour.
“If an abuser wants to find you, they will find you. It’s not like I woke up one day and was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to marry an abuser and be with him for 10 years’.
“No, they show up like Prince Charming or a queen or princess, because it happens to both men and women, and they infiltrate your life.
“Before you know it you become isolated from your friends and family and this doesn’t happen overnight, they chip away and before you know it, you’re completely isolated and you’ve got no access to your finances, your car. They take over your whole entire world.”
She said she feels there needs to be further awareness and education around the topic to support those experiencing it and when they are later trying to recover.
“I’m seven years out and I still have PTSD and I still have panic attacks and sometimes I feel I really don’t trust myself because I think, ‘How could I have trusted that person for 10 years when I thought he loved me’,” she added.
The singer explained that she tried a lot of different therapies to “ease the trauma” but feels she will have to live with it “side by side for the rest of my life”.
Brown, who campaigns for domestic abuse groups, received an MBE in 2022 for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women, which she dedicated to “all the other women” who are dealing with domestic violence.
