TAKING to the stage for her West End debut, former Saturdays singer Frankie Bridge wowed the audience — but there was one notable person missing from the crowd.
While London’s Apollo Theatre was packed to the rafters for the Press night of spooky play 2:22 A Ghost Story, her husband Wayne Bridge was across town watching Liam Gallagher.
In an exclusive interview, Frankie, 34, insisted: “It wasn’t an issue for me.
"He had a Liam Gallagher concert booked and he and his friends are all big fans, so I was like, ‘I’ll let you off’.
“His whole upbringing was around Oasis and it was a small and intimate gig, but he came and met me afterwards.”
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It has been almost a decade since Frankie, 34, and former England footballer Wayne, 43, tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Woburn Abbey, Beds.
And while her former bandmate Rochelle Humes, 34, and husband, Marvin, 38, renewed their wedding vows in Lake Como, Italy, last summer, Frankie insists she will not be following suit.
She said: “We’ll be married for ten years next year and people keep asking us, but I don’t know.
“Wayne and I are so bad at being organised that it will probably come to our anniversary and we’ll say, ‘Oh, yes, we’ve been married for a decade today’.”
The mum-of-two — to sons Parker, ten, and Carter, eight — admits she is torn when working away from her Surrey home.
Frankie, who plays Lauren, the friend of young mum Jenny (Jaime Winstone), who believes her house is haunted in the play, said: “I’ve always had mum guilt.
Normally we’d go away for the summer holidays, but at least I get to spend the mornings with them before I go to the theatre.”
Her boys are incredibly proud of their mum and watched the play as part of Carter’s birthday celebrations.
“I can’t even put into words how it felt to look out at the audience and see my babies there,” Frankie wrote on Instagram.
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“A moment I know I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Frankie enjoyed her first taste of stardom when she was not much older than her kids, joining pop group S Club Juniors aged 12.
She then racked up greater fame in girlband The Saturdays until 2014 and three years ago joined ITV’s Loose Women as one of their youngest panellists.
And despite rumours of tension between the stars, Frankie says they all get along famously and has formed a particularly firm friendship with feisty Denise Welch, 65.
She said: “I’m obsessed with Denise. She is hilarious and one of those people who doesn’t even know she is being funny.
“She has also been very supportive of my work, offering to run lines with me, and she rang me before my first show.”
Frankie sashayed on to the Strictly dance floor in 2014, where she was partnered with professional Kevin Clifton.
And Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy, 53, has already tapped her up for advice ahead of entering the ballroom as part of this year’s line-up.
She said: “I spoke to Krishnan. We trekked across the Namib Desert in southern Africa together in 2020 for Sports Relief.
"He got in touch to say, ‘What have I done?’ And I told him, ‘You’re going to be fine — just don’t mess it up!’”
A few former contestants have expressed their dread at hearing the Strictly theme long after their time on the show due to the pressure of performing every week, but for Frankie it only brings back good memories.
She explains: “It gives me an adrenalin boost and I love that feeling.
“It is horrible and terrifying, but you also say to yourself, ‘Here we go!
After everything I’ve learnt all week, this is my one shot’.
“It is exciting, and when I see all the new names being announced I know they are going to have such a great time.”
The 2021 I’m A Celebrity campmate has been refreshingly honest about her struggles with depression and anxiety, which saw her go into hospital aged 23.
Frankie said: “I’m really good. The fact that I took on this play speaks volumes as to how far I’ve come in confidence and being able to throw myself into new situations.
“I still have therapy and I think that’s something most people should do, whether you suffer from depression and anxiety or not. I also try and work out at the gym as much as possible.”
With the Spice Girls reported to perform at next year’s Glastonbury to mark their 30th anniversary, Frankie does not rule out The Saturdays also making a comeback one day.
She said: “It is not a plan at the minute, but the option is still there.
“I don’t think we’ve been split up for that long yet, but I suppose it feels longer for everyone else.
"It is hard enough to get a group of mates together, let alone a whole tour for The Saturdays.”
Asked if she would still remember the dance moves to tunes such as I Just Can’t Get Enough, she says with a laugh: “Probably! There are some things that are just ingrained into your mind, but whether we’d still look the same, I don’t know.”
Frankie has caught the acting bug since starring as Lauren in 2:22 A Ghost Story, which is on at the Apollo Theatre in London until September 17.
She said: “The West End is a box I’ve always wanted to tick, ever since I was a kid I have wanted to act. I’m still finding my feet. I’m giving myself until the end of the run then I’ll decide on whether I’d like to do more acting in a soap or a series.”
And Frankie’s dream role may surprise fans, as she explains: “I’ve always been obsessed with the clothes in series such as Bridgerton. I’d like to do something like that because the hair and costumes amaze me.”
