Claire in this weeks ok

[torer]

Just to let you know that there is an interview with claire in this weeks ok magazine, issue 563. :D

[smelleykins]

ooooo i'l get that tomorrow! :D

[knightr634]

is it a long interview? Thought she'd never do an interview with OK!

[Truestepper]

5/6 page app. Fooking north east doesn't get OK til tomorrow tho!!!

[emmasteps]

Just put my jimmer bottoms on!! Got to get changed now so I can go to the shop!!!!

Oh well, Miss Richards is worth the effort!!

xx

[Mixmaster]

ALL Steps members are worth the effort!

(Did that sound right to you?)

[lisaholic]

Cool will definatly be gettig this!

[SeanieB]

ALL Steps members are worth the effort!

(Did that sound right to you?)

nah they're really not... lol some can wait till the next day when its on your way...


she looks really good... nice interview... we'll probs see baby pics in OK aswell now :)

[Truestepper]

Some places don't even get OK til tomorrow tho.
Argh, stupid bloody backward place!

[Truestepper]

Ok...thanks to Sean I've seen the pics...shes looks lovely!!

[emmasteps]

Bless!! Made me smile!!

She's a sweetie!!! Lovely honest interview!! WELL DONE CLAIRE!!!!

p.s. I'm back in my jimmers now!!!

[emmasteps]

....And yes, it was worth the effort!!! Love the first pic of her!!

[Truestepper]

Well...I will say one thing about the conception...well done Reece ;) - first time AND when drunk!!

[Water Goblinglitter]

Im not sure whats wrong with Steps members that they think we want to know things like that! She must have been taking lessons from Lisa.

[SeanieB]

Im not sure whats wrong with Steps members that they think we want to know things like that! She must have been taking lessons from Lisa.

lol well its quite a funny story... I got pregnant at ant (of ant n dec fame)'s wedding reception...

We didn't need the 'LETS TRY NOW' part tho... :lol2:

[shirley chong]

could anyone scan it? I don't get Ok Mag over here :(

[steptember_85]

What was the interview talking about?

[Davidtatts123]

could somebody put it up as I would love to see it?

[SeanieB]

could somebody put it up as I would love to see it?

whats wrong with buying it?

[shirley chong]

I'm in Venezuela, Sean, in Latin Anerica, I don't get OK magazine here,if I did, I'd buy it. As I would with most Steps merchandise...

[smelleykins]

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! simple as. :)

[~*Kirsty*~]

^^ completely agree!!

[StepsUS1Fan]

Yeah, if someone is willing to scan it I would appreciate it!

[SeanieB]

Theres nothing really that interesting in the interview... I'll summerise:


She got drunk at Ant (of & Dec's) wedding reception and got pregnant the first time of trying.
She regretts the way steps ended
They're all friends now
Refers to H&Claire as "that thing H and I did" :lol:
Blames AYAM flopping on her hair, which she spent a year trying to wash out :sad:


http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1281/001dg8.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9093/002mn1.jpg

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7076/004yf0.jpg

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7949/005gc8.jpg

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8003/006zx5.jpg


all images copywrite to me and most now be used in henny way eva lub c.birch
failure to follow my dictatorship will result in unnecessary banning from LisaScott-Lee.com and further holding back of news and artwork for my own personal enjoyment (im raiding topshop)

[lisaholic]

I jut got it today and I agree Claire looks gorgeous.

[Water Goblinglitter]

I LOVE what she said about Sclub " People think they were more sucessful than us but they wern't" HA HA!

[sc8 fan]

she looks gawjus.

and she deals with the whole reece/mark issue with a lot of dignity. she could of just said no comment, but didnt.

shes so bloomin lovely.

[Mixmaster]

Gorgeous is a bit of an understatement innit?
More like a gift from God really!
She looks absoluley FABULOUS!!!!!
YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!

[shirley chong]

the pictures are gorgeous, I'd still love to read the interview.

[smelleykins]

I love the first picture && the one with the green top. She looks so cute in them ones. I'll see if i can type the interview up... x

[josey]

she looks so well in those pics and also looks so happy
like her kitchen in the * back ground of one of the pics*
glad i popped in here now as wasnt able to flick through ok mag this week due to it having that free gift in it and being in a wrapper.
popping off to buy now.
thanks for posting up about it.

[S Club 8 Central]

Bought OK Mag today too!

She does look stunning, I'm really proud of her! Go Claire!

[smelleykins]

Heres the interview for those who can't get copies of the magazine.
© Ok! Magazine


When steps split five years ago, Claire Richards pretty much went AWOL while her other bandmates have continued to forge showbiz careers. But thats the way she wanted it "I wasn't a big fan of the fame thing", she admits when we meet her. "As much as i wanted to be famous and successful, its a different thing when you get it. Even now, when people come up to me and say are you Claire from Steps, i feel very uncomfortable saying yes, even though thats the answer".
So instead, she has spent the past few years enjoying a rather quiet life with her boyfriend Reece. But all thats about to change as Claire, 29, is expecting their frist child in April. We caught up with the bubbly star to find out how it happened and why she has Ant McPartlin to thank for their joyous news....

Congratulations, Claire. Had you been trying for a while?
Last August, Reece and I decided that we wanted to start trying for a baby, so it was planned, although we never expected it to happen so quickly. The night I fell pregnant was the night we went to Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's wedding reception. I got very drunk at the bash and went home and said to Reece; "Lets try now!". And it worked! So i have Ant and Lisa to think for this little one.

Are you nervous about the birth?
I'm very scared about it. I am looking forward to the experience, but i know its going to hurt. I'm planning on having a home birth so i can't have an epidural, but who knows? When i start having contractions i might head straight to the hospital. But I really want to try giving birth in a birthing pool.

Do you think Reece will be good at dealing with the gory stuff?
I dont' think he'll be rushing to see it! He'll be good and supportive. Someone said i should have someone else along to give Reece a break, but i said; "i not going to get a break, so neither is he!". I might have my sister along, as she'd like to be. And so does my mum. But i'm not sure if i want my whole family peering in that direction!

Are you looking forward to being a mum?
It is scary that you are responsible for another human being and that they rely on you for everything. But its a learning curve. It's going to be a Taurus, like Ian ["H" Watkins]. Hopefully he or she won't be quiet as hyperactive. I haven't discovered the sex yet, but i feel like its a boy.

When you annouced to Reece that you were pregnant, was he excited?
Well, he was desperate to start a family, but at first he didn't believe it. When i did a test, the line was so faint so i rang my sister and said; "I think im pregnant". She said if theres something you're definatly pregnant. You can get false negatives, but not false positive.

So how long have you been together?
We've been together for two years, but we were a couple before i was married. We only got back together shortly after me and my ex-husband Mark broke up.

Why did you split up the first time?
Oh its very complicated. I was 22, and we were at the height of steps, so it just didn't work out. It wasn't that we didn't love each other, it just wasn't the right time for us. Im glad we did split up at the time, though, because i do wonder if we would have stayed together as i couldn't be there all the time, and most of the time I was miserable becuase i couldn't be with him. This time round, it feels like a proper relationship. We're the best of friends, though. He is the love of my life. But then everything got complicated when i got married.

What happened next?
No relationship ends well. He was a dancer and we got together on tour. Mark was with me all the time, even when H and I did our own album. But then when it came to an end, it was just me and him. Whereas before we had been surrounded by so many people, it was a bit of a culture shock, when it was jsut the two of us. And it changed. In the showbiz world we were compatible, but in the real world, it just didn't work.

Was it a shock for you to leave showbiz?
It was for a bit. I was going to come back at one point but now i wonder if i want to. When it came to the end fo the thing I did with H, i had had enough. I said i didn't want to do anything else. I couldnt' bear all the falseness of it all. I miss it a little bit. I loved touring and being on stage but after Steps i discovered who my real friends were.

Do you regret splitting the band the way you did?
H and I told the rest of Steps that we wanted to leave the day before the last show. But there was no other way of doing it. We're all friends now, thankfully. I can't apologise for the decision I made. If i hadn't have told them before, i would have gone away from that tour and never seen them again. I didn't want to say goodbye through a solicitor like other bands do. I wanted them to hear it from me. It was a crap time, though.

Were you gutted that the H and Claire thing didnt' work out?
Of course i was. It was around the time when pop was beginning to die out. And also i had this dodgy brown hair color on the album cover which i spent a year trying to get rid of. When we got the chart position - it was 58 - I cancelled all the TV promotion because i was so embarressed. But i didn't want to deal with it for a while. Four years later, im still trying to deal with that.

Was there much rivalry between you and S Club?
They came out after us and they were percieved as being more successful than Steps, but they weren't. They always looked bored, I always saw them alseep. We were always very slick. We spent time rehearsing and getting the look right. People didn't take us seriously so we had to be great!

How do you think Ian fared on Celebrity Big Brother?
H wasn't the only adult in the house that could have said something to Jade, Jo and Danielle about the bullying towards Shilpa. He is probably one of the most caring and sensitive people i know i can see how it upset him being in the middle of the situation. I think that he may have felt torn as he does not dislike the girls and similarly he does not dislike Shilpa either so to keep the peace and to avoid further confrontation between himself and the girls he steered clear of standing up to them which is what the majority of the other housemates did. He has been a victim of bullying himself and he wouldn't have condoned the behaviour of the three girls involved.

He came out just before entering the CBB house - did he really need to tell us?!
He did it for himself and im proud he's done it. He just didn't want to have any kiss and tell stories, not that hes done anything too bad. There was a story recently that said that when he worked at Butlins he was getting it on with boys and girls but i think he was probably just deciding what he wanted!

Do you think Ian will be at the birth?
God, i hope not! Can you imagine?! He'd be squealing all over the place!

Enjoys!! Rachel xxx

[josey]

got the mag now, havent read it properly just had a quick peek what i read sounds a nice interview and also sounds like she has no ill feelings towards mark
i didnt realise she was due next month, thats gone quick!
also that she was embarresed by how her and h,s album did.

[SeanieB]

like her kitchen in the * back ground of one of the pics*


its not hers its a location... its credited @ the end of the interview

[josey]

i know! still a nice kitchen though.

[Truestepper]

I'm in Venezuela, Sean, in Latin Anerica, I don't get OK magazine here,if I did, I'd buy it. As I would with most Steps merchandise...

He wasn't getting at you, he was talking to David.

[steptember_85]

Thank you so much for the interview. Nice one, and WOW, Claire said so many things. Not very important, but interesting, especially for S Club part:p.

[Mixmaster]

With all this media attention i'd be damned if some form of reunion DIDN'T happen sometime soon! Not that i'm trying to re-address the topic but all of them are coming back into it now aren't they? In one way or another!

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!

[SeanieB]

With all this media attention i'd be damned if some form of reunion DIDN'T happen sometime soon! Not that i'm trying to re-address the topic but all of them are coming back into it now aren't they? In one way or another!

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!

if u read it... shes not interested in fame no more... and h just signed for fame... that'll tie him up till september...

POPFACT: reunion was never on the cards

[shirley chong]

He wasn't getting at you, he was talking to David.

oops! my bad. Sorry Sean.
Oh, and thanks for posting the interview, it was very nice.

[Mixmaster]

if u read it... shes not interested in fame no more... and h just signed for fame... that'll tie him up till september...

POPFACT: reunion was never on the cards

I can dream can't I?

[SeanieB]

I can dream can't I?

yeah if you like a life full of disapointment

[Mixmaster]

I'm used to it

[dreaminsimi]

ooh thanks for posting the pics Sean and Rachel thanks for posting the interview. It was an interesting read. I think she looks great in the first pic in particular.lol that bit about "the thing I did with H" or something like that was quite funny.

[Markus]

Picked up my copy and Claire looks amazing. Especially in the first pic. Loved the interview, she was open and honest and I truly love that she blamed the fact H&Claire flopped on her tragic brown hair. Best excuse for a failing album I have ever heard!!

Nice to see Claire in the spotlight again - even if it is brief.

[Stepstar90]

Thanks for the pictures, I really like the first one, not too keen on the floral suit thing though.

[kattozilla]

i liked the first pic it reminded me of what she used to look like around the time of chain reaction, it's a shame she's not up for the fame thing anymore she was was a huge talent great voice could've gone far but after H&C i expect it did knock her confidence, but she's happy an got a baby on the way maybe one day she will return but when she's ready she's got her baby to think about now i expect it will be lisa's turn next :-)

[stepsnut]

my advice for Claire, don't change your hair color! She did it fot Summer of Love according to their Greatest Hits book. Great pics & interview! Glad that Steps are still friends.

[SeanieB]

my advice for Claire, don't change your hair color! She did it fot Summer of Love according to their Greatest Hits book. Great pics & interview! Glad that Steps are still friends.
did you not notice?

[stepsnut]

I could tell!

[Ariel80]

i sell the ok mag every week in my shop and they missed that weeks edition! i did not even know she was in that one and now i cant get it :(

[Darian]

did you not notice?



:lol2: .

[What The Neighbours Said]

thanks for posting! she looks gorgeous in those pictures <33

lawl at the Ian at the birth comment :rofl:

[stepsnut]

u mean lol

[tooclosetotears]

I would just like to say with referance to the quote "I was going to come back at one point but now i wonder if i want to." I could probably say that a majority of the people reading this will agree with me when i say we want you to come back. And the sooner the better.Oh and i would personally like to thank reece (he says in a sarcastic tone) for getting claire pregnant and potentially delaying/canceling any future solo release. thanks buddy. p.s. claire still looks stunning.

[SeanieB]

calm down, shes always wanted to be a mother, shes nearly 30... it was going to happen sometime... and im sure this isnt the last we've heard from here... she'll probably think about doing something one day

[tooclosetotears]

Its just the uncertainty of it all that gets to me. Like if she is coming back is it going to be within the next month, the next six months, next year, the year after. Now i dont expect an exact date but a ballpark figure would be nice so that it would give us something to look forward to. and if she isnt intending to come back at least it will give us some sort of closure, so to speak. and then maybe she could post the songs she has got finished (i have read in more than one interview that she has been in the studio recording stuff) on a site somewhere, like for instance "this one". it would just be nice if she actually made a definitive decision one way or the other and then she could put us out of our misery of not knowing. Oh and i would like to wish claire & reece all the best with her pregnancy and impending birth and i hope reece knows that he is the luckiest s.o.b. on the face of the earth and appreciates every moment he has with her. http://www.robbscelebs.co.uk/noops303/claire_richards0001.jpg

[Water Goblinglitter]

I think, judgeing by the fact she has her first CHILD due in the next month or so we can safely say she wont be back to work then. Call me a genius! Im also pretty sure that shes made it more or less clear that she isnt interested in being "famous" anymore. Don't get me wrong, im sure if and probably when the reunion happens in time that Claire will be there but for the forseeable future I really think people need to stop obsessing over Claire. Its almost freaky in some cases!

[SeanieB]

She wont be back for a long time... I doubt that she'll do the solo thing anytime soon.

The best you can all hope for is a STEPS reunion, and thats ages away

[Water Goblinglitter]

You know what annoys me, and ive been wanting to say this for ages. I SWEAR some people think she should( or at least hope she will ) neglect the child, miss on important growing up stages and generally knacker herself out in favour of going back to work! Be that a solo career or the enigamatic STEPS renunion JUST to keep her fans happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really think these people need professional help.

[tooclosetotears]

Actually what i was getting at is it would be nice to have an answer either way on weather she will or will not return to music at some point in her career (not that im expecting to see her dancing on stage with a baby strapped to her back) instead of her saying things like "I was going to come back at one point but now i wonder if i want to." and leaving her fans in a state of limbo. Not knowing weather to invest their energy in a vein hope of a return. Because it would be great loss if she didnt return at some point because she has in my opinion one of (if not the)best voice in the business.

[SeanieB]

she doesn't have to explain herself to anybody.

She never said (like some have) 'My album will be out later this year' for the past 5 years has she...

[Water Goblinglitter]

Yeah thats just the point, in my opnion normal people DON'T sit there in a state of limbo. Why don't you try " investing your energy" In things other than obessing about Claire. Then you might see what im saying.
You probably don't get a straight answer coz Claire herself doesnt know. Thats fine by me and most other people I know coz I know that Claires too happy and busy with other things to think about it. Im not sitting here implying that she some how owes us. She is having a baby, her first child. Like I said b4, ANYONE who thinks she should be giving anything else a thought, especially something as unimportant as her solo career, really does need help!

[Truestepper]

What people also fail to realise is that shes not had any interest in doing anything for the last 4 years - why the hell would she be interested now. Going by the pics she posted up, shes VERY much happy having a family, and thats a hell of a lot more important than pleasing a few obsessives and getting slated by the thick so-called journos.

[X-XDebbiiX-X]

people should just support her in whatever she deicides to do,and it looks as if she it set to look affter her family for the time being and all i can say is good on her a family is worth more than any career and any of the steps members will tell you that x

[Truestepper]

a family is worth more than any career and any of the steps members will tell you that x

I dunno...I'd say theres a couple who'd rather have a career!

[SeanieB]

To be fair Id like her to have both!

[X-XDebbiiX-X]

yea don't get me wrong i want her to have both but atm and when she has the baby i don't think that will be possible but good luck to her anyway x

[Water Goblinglitter]

I dunno...I'd say theres a couple who'd rather have a career!

Ha, I know one who thinks that want they want/need/have a strop about today is more important than AN-Y-THING!

[jimmbbo]

New stuff from her would be awesome but I'd rather she just do what makes her happy

[SeanieB]

I don't think shes completely given up all her plans/ideas etc of doing more music.

I think the baby is very much her priority at the moment, but I have reason to believe that she might one day might open her mouth again and sing something for us... but whether its as Claire from STEPS or Claire Richards remains to be seen ;)


Even still I think with Claire, as it was before baby, it'll be "Wait and see!"

[knightr634]

Anyone know if Claire has had the baby? If not, i wonder if she champion for the longest pregnancy for a human

[smelleykins]

she's only just two weeks late... they will wait that long untill they induce her.

[Truestepper]

Well one of her old school mates has left a congrats message on her myspace, so it looks like shes had it!

[SeanieB]

they induce after ten days now... so we decided this morning that she'd had it lol and she had.... hopefully it was on monday!

[Water Goblinglitter]

I cannot even begin to explain how annoying it is that this school friend left a congrats message and didnt let on if its a girl or a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ejump-17]

I cannot even begin to explain how annoying it is that this school friend left a congrats message and didnt let on if its a girl or a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Surprise!!! Lol..;)

[smelleykins]

Lol aye i seen that msg last night. Was like... um.. boy/girl please?! lol. Its gotta be a boy.. they are lazy! x

[SeanieB]

Boys are BEST

[stepster5678]

Im dying to find out.
C'mon let us know whats happening.

[Water Goblinglitter]

LOl its all up to Claire im afraid.............. Or H, who is apparently on Loose women at lunchtime and you just know he wont be keeping his gob shut about his beautiful new godchild...... Lol and why should he!

[shirley chong]

claire has a myspace?

[avs]

H is on loose women next friday (18th may) hopefully we find out before then LOL

[Water Goblinglitter]

Yes NEXT friday. Sarah told me it was today :@

[SeanieB]

Hopefully we'll know by then

[hsteps]

He cant deny anything if its not official by then (im sure it will be though)...hes a REALLY crap liar!

[SeanieB]

I think we'll all know before H blabs on looose women anyway....

[Truestepper]

I've just realised....we won't be able to check into the hotel til 2pm, thus we won't see Loose Women.