Cheryl teases Girls Aloud’s future in new interview days before Liam Payne’s death

Cheryl shared her thoughts on the future of Girls Aloud as she joined her bandmates for a special interview recorded a week before Liam Payne’s death.

The Girls Aloud Show: The Interview, conducted by presenter Ben Shephard, has dropped on ITVX ahead of the eagerly-anticipated concert film and was recorded on October 8.

The 20-minute interview gives an insight into the reunion between the 00s pop group – made up of Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh – in honour of their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

Now that the band has reunited, Cheryl. 41, has reflected on what’s next.

She revealed: ‘We’re catching our breath, one thing I have learnt in my infinite wisdom, at my ripe age, is that you can genuinely never say never.’

Nicola added: ‘I don’t think we saw ourselves doing this tour. At one time, we didn’t think we could see us doing this.’

Elsewhere in the chat, Nicola added that she is grateful the group have been able to make such a strong return ‘at their age’.

The singer said: ‘The music industry is such a young place, that when you’re that young and you’re shrouded in that ageism you just think we could never possibly do that at that age.

‘Loads of my friends have been inspired by us,’ Kimberley agreed.

And Cheryl admitted ‘how fortunate that we still can, 22 years later.’

The tour was a poignant tribute to Harding, who sadly died aged 39 in 2021 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

‘We were really conscious the whole time of making sure it wasn’t too sad because she wasn’t a sad character, she was the bubbliest one of us all,’ Cheryl shared.

‘We wanted to keep her spirit amongst it as well as representing her and having her there throughout the show, but not in a sad way. The situation is sad enough.’

Last week, the girl group marked the twentieth anniversary of the band’s Children in Need single I’ll Stand By You by releasing a new version that featured old recordings of Harding’s voice to give her voice the lead vocals on the track.

Fans were deeply moved by the re-released song and were left in tears as they listened. It was also played by the band during their reunion tour across the UK and Ireland over the summer.

In recent weeks, Cheryl has stayed out of the public eye following the death of her ex-partner and One Direction star Payne. The pair shared a seven-year-old son, Bear.

After his untimely death in October, Cheryl released a statement on social media which was supported by her Girls Aloud co-stars.

‘As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,’ she wrote.

‘Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.’

She added that her spirit was being troubled by the thought of not being able to protect Bear in the future from seeing some reports.

‘Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourselves if you’d like your own family or child to read them.

‘Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last. Thank you, Cheryl.’

The Girls Aloud Show: The Interview is available to stream on ITVX. The Girls Aloud Show will air on ITV on November 17 at 8pm.

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