It’s pure and simple – this week marks 20 years since the original reality TV band Hear’Say won Popstars.
Made up of Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, Noel Sullivan and Danny Foster, they were briefly the biggest pop band in the country after judges including “Nasty” Nigel Lythgoe and Nicki Chapman put them together.
But behind the scenes, there were bitter rows, which led to Kym quitting the group. Eventually, in October 2002, they split after just 20 months, citing “abuse from the public” amid disappointing record sales.
They would go on to be eclipsed by the five Popstars finalists who did not make the cut. Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young formed Liberty X and notched up 10 consecutive UK top 20 singles.
From glittering showbiz success to reality show flops and personal tragedy, here we look at where the stars of Hear’Say are now.
Noel Sullivan
Noel was working as a waiter when he applied for Popstars (Image: ITV)
Cardiff lad Noel was working as a waiter when he applied for Popstars. He later revealed he felt he was “thrown on the scrapheap” after Hear’Say broke up.
Noel also claimed he was told to keep quiet about being gay, which he said “ruined him” and caused him “years of depression and self-abuse”.
He went on to do musical theatre with roles in shows including Fame and Grease.
In May 2014, Noel teamed up with former bandmate Danny for drag act Do Blonde Tondres but they split after a few months due to musical differences.
You might remember Noel’s 2010 Gavin And Stacey cameo. He also appeared in BBC drama Ordinary Lies in 2016 and the critically acclaimed Years And Years in 2019.
Now 40, Noel is married to James Bennett. The pair live in France, where they renovating a 16th-century house.
During a 2019 This Morning appearance, Noel told how he had piled on 2st to play Jack Black’s role in the School Of Rock musical, but last week revealed he has shed more than 3st in just a year.
Suzanne Shaw
Last year, Suzanne said she has been on antidepressants for 20 years (Image: suzanneshaw/Instagram)
The baby of the group, Suzanne had just turned 18 when she auditioned for Popstars. After the band’s demise, she struck out in the West End, appearing in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Rocky Horror Show.
She joined the cast of The Bill in 2007, won Dancing On Ice in 2008,and played Eve Birch in Emmerdale until 2011.
Suzanne, from Bury, Gtr Manchester, famously dated Darren Day for around 18 months but they split three months after the birth of son Corey, now 15
She then wed DJ Jason King in 2009 after they did Britain’s Worst Celebrity Driver together, but they split in 2012.
Suzanne, 39, then went on to get engaged to businessman Sam Greenfield and they now have son Rafferty, five.
Last year she revealed she had battled mental health demons and has been on antidepressants for 20 years.
Suzanne also told how she had quit alcohol after using it to “self-medicate” and had slimmed to a size 8 as a result.
Myleene Klass
Myleene has done so much since the group split – but she didn’t last long on Dancing on Ice (Image: Instagram/myleeneklass)
After the band broke up, the trained pianist signed a deal for a string of classical records. But it was wearing a white bikini in 2006’s I’m A Celebrity which really kickstarted her career.
Fans couldn’t get enough of her after she showed off her toned bod in the jungle shower and offers of work flooded in. She got a big-money deal with Marks & Spencer, hosted The One Show and 10 Years Younger and currently presents a show on Smooth Radio.
But she has faced heartbreak in her personal life. Her husband, former bodyguard Graham Quinn walked out on their marriage soon after their daughter Hero, nine, was born.
They already had daughter Ava, now 13. The star later admitted she developed a drink problem as she struggled to cope.
But the Norfolk-born beauty has since found love again with PR man Simon Motson and they have son Apollo, one. Sadly, last year she revealed she had suffered four miscarriages.
Myleene, 42, has most recently been on 2021’s Dancing on Ice – but was the first to get the boot.
Kym Marsh
Kym was the first to leave Hear’Say (Image: Getty Images)
Kym was the first to leave Hear’say and later revealed she’d gone from being close friends with Myleene to bitter enemies. After a story about her was leaked by someone close to the group she quit on impulse without discussing it with the others.
Post-Hear’say she released a solo album but real success came when she was cast in Coronation Street in 2006 as feisty Michelle Connor.
Kym remained on the cobbles for 13 years but quit to pursue other projects and is currently the host of BBC lifestyle programme Morning Live alongside Gethin Jones. Kym married EastEnders star Jack Ryder in 2002 but they split in 2008 and she got together with Hollyoaks hunk Jamie Lomas.
Tragically, their son Archie was born 18 weeks early in 2009 but died shortly after birth. Myleene was one of the first to get in touch and the two repaired their relationship. Kym, 44, is now with soldier boyfriend Scott Ratcliff.
In 2019 she became a grandmother aged 42 when her daughter Emilie gave birth to a baby boy.
Danny Foster
Danny disappeared from the spotlight for a few years (Image: Andy Barnes / Flynet – SplashNews)
Danny had been a cleaner and trained as a youth worker when he tried out for the show.
After Hear’say went their separate ways, he met wife Victoria Goddard in 2003 and did a smattering of reality shows including Channel 4’s The Games and Channel 5’s Trust Me – I’m A Beauty Therapist.
Danny, from Hackney, east London, disappeared from the spotlight but made a comeback to audition on The Voice in 2013. But none of the judges turned around.
The 41-year-old currently performs in his own group Danny Foster & The Big Soul Corporation and had a brush with death in 2016 when the car he was travelling in burst into flames.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
