Mel B has bad news about the Spice Girls reunion

THE Spice Girls 20th anniversary is a week away, and reunion rumours have reached fever pitch. Now Scary Spice herself has let slip some bad news.

FANS of world-conquering ‘90s pop act the Spice Girls have been on high alert in recent weeks, as the group’s 20th anniversary approaches — and talk of a reunion reaches fever pitch.

Despite multiple members of the group insisting they had something special planned to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their debut single Wannabe — which was released in the UK on July 8, 1996, ushering in two years of non-stop Spicemania across the world — ‘Scary Spice’ Mel B has revealed things aren’t as organised as we’d hoped behind the scenes.

Yes, it’s been 20 years since the Spice Girls burst onto the scene. Picture: AP Photo/Mike/Stephens

The girls do have something planned for the anniversary — they’re just running way behind schedule, she reveals in a new interview

“This is the thing. It is our 20th anniversary this year and this would be the perfect year, but places get booked out so what we’ll hopefully do is plan to do something to celebrate next year,” she told Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper on US television this week.

“But it’s something that we want to do and it will be nice to celebrate and give something back to the fans. I’m not getting any younger,” the 41-year-old joked.

The girls first reunited in 2007 for a greatest hits album and ‘world’ tour — which they then cut short. Picture: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

News of a delay in reunion plans comes amid widespread rumours of discord among the five former members of the group, who scored nine UK number one hits during their time together.

Victoria Beckham is not expected to take part in a reunion in any large-scale way — no great shock, as the Artist Formerly Known As Posh Spice has forged a successful new career as a designer and fashion icon, and has previously said the group’s triumphant performance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony felt like a fitting end to their time together.

The London Olympics were an amazing Spice Girls concert where some sport happened also. Picture: Brett Costello

But reports that Sporty Spice Melanie C — the group’s vocal backbone — has dropped out of the reunion are more surprising. They also appear to have some basis in fact: Melanie B unfollowed her former bandmate and friend of more than two decades on Twitter and Instagram.

So will the reunion go ahead as a three-piece, with just Geri, Mel B and Emma? What sort of “venues” would the girls need to book for a tour offering fans just three-fifths of the Spice Girls? It seems we’ll have to wait until 2017 to find out.

Originally published as Mel B has bad news about the Spice Girls reunion