THERE'S a perception with girl bands that it’s all bitching and backstabbing behind the scenes.
But not in Girls Aloud, so says Kimberley Walsh.
More than two decades after they met on reality show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, they are closer than ever – even if their meet-ups now are slightly less exciting than those early nights in private members’ clubs, downing drinks.
“Oh god, we are all so old,” she rolls her eyes jokingly.
“It is a long friendship. It’s really nice.
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“I feel close to all of the girls – it’s genuinely a close friendship where we text daily. We are in each other’s lives, we know what’s going on.
“Obviously with everything that’s happened, we’re really as tight as we’ve ever been at the moment. You just have to lean on each other, don’t you?”
Losing their band mate Sarah Harding to breast cancer in 2021 had a dramatic effect on Kimberley and the rest of the band: Cheryl, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts.
While they had remained friendly, the news of Sarah’s illness brought them back together as they spent time with her in her final months.
Last year, they fulfilled their friend’s dying wish to put on a fund-raising gala called The Primrose Ball, where they made over £1million for cancer research.
“The gala felt like the perfect way to put all our energy into something positive together, and it helped her mum Marie to have something to focus on.
“We raised over £1million for all the research she wanted. So we did what we promised her.”
The girls didn’t perform at the gala, she says, as it didn’t feel right without Sarah, but there have been rumours of new music.
Having previously reunited for their 10th anniversary, fans had hoped they would get back together for their 20th, before the news of Sarah’s illness broke.
“We don’t feel like we want to celebrate the 20 years in the way we might have done, but we have tried to do some things.
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“We are doing some re-releases of the singles with different versions of us singing different parts.
“It’s just some fun stuff so they can feel we are making something of it, because 20 years is massive. I can’t believe it, to be honest.
Now three of the band are mums, there’s lots of hanging out with each other’s kids, too.
Kimberley has three boys, Bobby, eight, Cole, six, and 23-month-old Nate with husband of seven years Justin Scott, while Cheryl has six-year-old Bear with ex Liam Payne, and Nadine has nine-year-old Anaíya with ex Jason Bell.
“Bear and the boys love seeing each other. They never want to leave each other’s house.
“Whenever Bear comes over, he’s like: ‘No, I’m staying!’ I think he loves our house because it’s crazy.
“There’s so many of them running around and he loves playing with the boys.
“Bobby looks after him because he’s younger, whereas he and Cole are the same age, so they love it.
“The most regular place that Cheryl and I see each other now is kids’ parties, which is definitely a sign of the times.
“She had an amazing Halloween party for them all.”
It’s not just Cheryl who Kimberley sees on playdates – even Nicola gets roped into helping out.
“I’m going to tap her up to come and help me teach a songwriting lesson at Bobby’s school next week,” Kimberley laughs.
“I’m not sure how she’s gonna feel about it. She might ignore that message! I’ve agreed to do it, but then I thought: ‘I’m not really the best songwriter, Nicola is way better than me, so she might help me.’
“Then Bobby said: ‘That would be amazing.’ She has got cool auntie vibes. She can just show up, be fun and then leave me with all the work.”
Thankfully, the girls do occasionally still get a night out together, having recently attended the gala opening of Cheryl’s debut role in the West End show 2:22 A Ghost Story.
“She was so good!” Kimberley says. “I was so proud. I said to her: ‘As if you’ve known that you could do this the whole time and never done an acting job!’
“She’s probably been offered plenty over the years. It was really admirable that she would just jump head-first into a massive role like that.
“Anyone who’s not seen the show might think it’s a cameo, but she’s never offstage.
“I do theatre, so I know how much work it was – there are so many words and so much action.
“It’s a full-on show, but she smashed it. It’s hard for us to forget that it’s Cheryl, but we got sucked into the story.
“We did check if she was all right with us being there and she said: ‘Yeah, you are the least of my worries.’ When I do press nights, I’m always glad they are there, as then there are one or two people that are gonna cheer whatever I do.”
There have been murmurs that Kimberley, who has appeared on stage in Big, Sleepless In Seattle and Elf, is set to take over Cheryl’s role of Jenny when the cast changes.
“I’m not, but someone else asked me that, too. Now I feel like I just couldn’t. It would be too weird. It’s a great play though.
“Thankfully, before I had Nate, I did quite a few shows and I really loved it.
“He’s still so little to be left, and with three, it’s quite hard to leave at that time of day, because you need to be there, but in a couple of years it will be a different story.
“Obviously it’s work, but it doesn’t really feel like it because it’s what I love.
“I will definitely want to do something else at some point, but not right now.”
The girls were only in their 20s when the band started, so is it weird to look back on pictures from that time now they are in their 40s?
“There’s no denying if I look at pictures from 10 years ago I’m like: ‘God, a lot has changed.’
“But we are ageing. Yes, there are wrinkles and stuff. What can you do? It just is what it is.
“I’ve tried to make the best of myself when possible, but I don’t really get too bogged down with it.
“My mum aged gracefully and, yes, she has aged, but she still looks good. She’s got good skin and she passed it on to me.”
We wonder if losing Sarah has changed her perspective on how she feels about ageing. “Just be grateful for what you have while you’ve got it,” she replies.
Most of Kimberley’s time is taken up with being a mum to her boys.
She describes chaotic evenings with her and Justin, who she has been with for 17 years, trying to get the kids fed and homework done.
She says: “We both can cook, but it’s kind of whoever’s free at that moment. They all need different things.
“One of us is with the baby, then the other is doing homework with the big boys and there are after-school clubs, so whoever ends up having the time makes dinner.
“Then that’s the only time where we go: ‘OK, everybody stop whatever else you’re doing. Come and sit down and eat your dinner.’
“Justin is quite strict about phones around the table. So for that half an hour, everyone is in the same place.”
Kimberley feels so passionate about spending time talking as a family that she has partnered with McCain to launch Teatime To Talk conversation cards, after research showed 31% of families claim that the cost of living crisis has impacted on family time.
She said: “I feel like it’s been a tough year – and it still is for people.
“I’ve recorded a playlist of conversation starters to throw in the mix around the table and get families chatting.
“This really resonated with me, because I’ve got young kids and it’s hard enough to keep them at the dinner table, never mind getting into a conversation, so playing these games really helped.”
While most women dream of having a little girl, Kimberley is happy with her three sons.
“I am outnumbered by boys, but I do feel quite special,” she says.
“They treat me like a queen because I’m the only woman in the family.
“Me and my two sisters all had babies within six months of each other, so when we are in the same place, it’s full on with
three toddlers.
“We’ve got seven boys in our family. So you think: ’They’re all going to be crazy.’
“But actually, there are so many different characters. My sister’s boys are chilled, whereas mine are crazy and climbing the walls and jumping off bannisters. That’s normal, right?” she laughs.
“Now Amy [Kimberley’s younger sister and Emmerdale star] has had a baby girl, Bonnie Mae, and they treat her like some sort of princess. They dote on her.”
As well as Amy, who plays Tracy Metcalfe in the soap, Kimberley’s big sister Sally was also on Emmerdale as Lyn Hutchinson from 1997 to 2000, so have the producers come knocking for Kimberley to appear too?
“They haven’t asked me. I auditioned for it in the past, but they haven’t gone for the hat-trick.
“It would be funny to go in for a couple of episodes, but that’s definitely Amy’s thing, and I’m happy to leave it to her.
“Any soap is just so full-on and a lifestyle choice, which I just can’t really do right now.”
With so much going on, do she and Justin ever make time for just themselves?
“We’ve been together for such a long time. I know I’m supposed to say: ‘Yeah, we do,’ but it’s really hard.
“We’ve not had a night away from the kids in I don’t know how long. Definitely not since Nate was born, so it’s two years.
“Of course, there was the pandemic, but we’ve realised nobody wants to take three kids for the night.
“When it was just the older two, anyone would have them, because it’s easy. When you throw a baby into the mix, people are not volunteering quite as often.
“They are young and go to bed at a decent time, though, so we still have the evening to be a couple. But we kind of live for our kids.
“It’s really sad, but we don’t mind. I’m always saying: ‘Oh, we just need to go out,’ and then Justin says: ‘They’re only going to be young for a minute,’ or: ‘These are the last bottles we are gonna give them.’
“Then I start to think: ‘Oh my god, what happened to you? You are such a softy now!’ But it is true.
“In a couple of months, I’ll never give a baby a bottle ever again, so I’m just trying to enjoy this little bubble for as long as it lasts.
“Bobby feels really grown-up and almost like a teenager. He is really helpful. Nate’s starting to talk now and bossing the whole household around.”
Currently, Kimberley is loving hosting BBC1’s Morning Live, which airs every weekday at 9.15am, with loose plans to try to do more presenting, but she tends to just take her career in her stride, which has worked pretty well so far.
“I’m hoping I can do a bit more live TV. I’ve never been a planner, but I’ve always trusted my gut and it’s worked out.
“I’ve stuck around for 20 years. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m still going to be doing the grind, working and doing what I love.”
- Teatime To Talk conversation cards are available to view or download for free from Mccain.co.uk and major streaming platforms.
