S Club 7 member reveals grim reality of life inside teen pop band

Two members of early noughties teen pop group S Club 7 were in a very public relationship — but the reality was far more sinister.

S Club 7’s Paul Cattermole has revealed his romance with former bandmate Hannah Spearritt was “contractually forced” by TV bosses.

The 42-year-old left the beloved pop band in 2002 to form his own group Skua and has now commented on his relationship with Hannah.

Reflecting on his career with S Club 7, Cattermole claimed he and Spearritt’s relationship was part of their contract when they both appeared on the show Hollywood 7.

The series was a spin-off of their 1999 UK TV show Miami 7 and also featured their fellow bandmates Tina Barrett, Rachel Stevens, Jo O’Meara, Bradley McIntosh and Jon Lee.

S Club 7 member Paul Cattermole (top right) and Hannah Spearritt (directly below him).

Speaking to the Guardian’s G2, Cattermole said he felt “forced” and the relationship “did not happen organically”.

He added their romance had been “written into the Hollywood 7 show” and said: “And because of that, it sort of happened.”

When asked if he felt he was “forced into the relationship”, he replied: “Yeah, but like I say. It didn’t feel like that because I had totally grown into the idea, quite quickly … I thought she was great.”

Cattermole left the group, which won two Brit awards, in 2002 and at the time cited “creative differences”.

Following his departure, the band changed their name from S Club 7 to S Club before splitting for good a year later.

Hannah Spearritt.

Paul Cattermole.

In 2017, Cattermole told The Sun on Sunday he believed he and Spearritt’s five-year relationship ended because her agent convinced her she needed an actor boyfriend.

The singer claimed Spearritt was ordered to ditch him for an actor to catch the attention of Hollywood casting directors.

He said at the time: “I very much felt she thought she needed to ­prioritise her career.

“I’m betting she was told, ‘So your current boyfriend is doing music stuff. Well, that’s great, but you really need an actor boyfriend’.

“She was much more impressionable then than she is now, so I reckon if an agent told her to ditch me then she might have listened.”

Spearritt and Cattermole were part of S Club 7 from the beginning in 1999 and, having been friends since their teens, soon began dating.

Previously, they said that because their management had banned relationships, they only revealed they were a couple in 2001.

The cover of the group’s third album Sunrise.

Until then, the lovers had to sneak around for secret sex sessions behind the backs of their five ­bandmates and label bosses.

In 2017, Cattermole admitted he was blindsided when Spearritt ended their relationship in 2006, three years after S Club 7.

The break-up came soon after Spearritt flew to the US to try to pursue an acting career.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission