Heidi Range addresses Sugababes rift rumours 13 years after quitting band

Heidi Range has insisted there is no rift between her and other members of the Sugababes nearly 14 years after she left the girl band.

The singer, who is taking part in a Christmas charity concert in aid of Childline on December 10, says she no longer worries about "silly things" like she did in her youth, and is now focused on her health and her two daughters.

It comes after rumours in 2022 that she could rejoin the original lineup of the band - Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena - when they reformed with OG member Siobhan Donaghy, who she had replaced in 2001.

Heidi, 41, will be performing for the first time solo since leaving the Sugababes, yet going it alone doesn't daunt her.

The star, who once performed smash hits like Push the Button and Freak Like Me with the band, admits: “I’ve realised how much I missed singing since I’ve started rehearsing but I don’t miss being on the road.

“I was on the road for 11 years. I lived out of the suitcase, and I love that I'm at home with my babies now.”

Since leaving the Sugababes in 2011, the singer has performed in theatre across the UK, married partner Alex Partakis and focused on raising their daughters Aurelia, six, and Athena, three.

She says: “I look back on the career I have with the band and I feel really proud of what we achieved and then I look up, look at my babies, and I feel like the proudest woman in the world.

“I’ve performed in the West End since but not like this where I’m on the stage without a chorus and singing two Christmas songs.

“You get nerves before every performance but you just have to crack on with it. I’m excited, most of all. My daughter, Aurelia, will be in the audience but she doesn’t know I’m performing yet.”

She’s had her fair share of embarrassing mum moments over the years and is hoping this one won’t be one of them.

She laughs: “There's been plenty of tantrums, you feel like it's terrible mother, if there's a tantrum in public. They’ve had them in the supermarket before.

“We were in Sainsbury’s when my eldest was singing a Sugababes song. It was About You Now. It was at the check-out waiting in the queue and I was like, ‘Oh, baby, just sing something else!’ I thought, I don't want people thinking I'm getting my child to sing my songs for the attention.”

But the self-confessed “Christmas nut” is excited to gear up to Christmas. As we speak, Heidi’s standing in her home in Fulham, London, surrounded by opaque storage boxes full of decorations.

She laughs: “Last year we had to hire a van to get all the decorations. We’ve got a double garage where we store things in Surrey. My husband’s got quite a big car but a few years back he had to do two trips just for the decorations so now we do it differently.

“We’ve got boxes and boxes. The house will be like a grotto by the end of the weekend. It’s my favourite time, and especially with the girls the age they are. The whole magic of it is gorgeous.

“My girls are very different characters, and I think what they've asked for for Christmas, like, really sums them up. The little one is quite spirited, shall we say! The eldest is really sensible. She has asked for the desk desk to do drawing and writing.

“Then the three year-old has said she wants a motorbike with lots of seats for ‘all my friends’. I’ve told her, ‘I'm not sure Santa will be able to get you a giant bike with lots of seats but we’ll see what we can do’.”

Heidi has been an NSPCC campaigner for over two years. Her work “strikes a chord” even more since becoming a parent herself.

Born in Liverpool, her parents divorced when she was seven and her mum, Karen, worked long hours to support her and her sister. She doesn’t take anything for granted - despite her fame and fortune.

She says: “I was lucky to have two strong women in my life - my mum and my nan. My nan Vera was like a second mother to me. She championed my mum, me and my sister despite having a really hard life herself.

“She worked at Marks and Spencers for years, but every night, she'd get all the food that was going to be chucked away, and she'd take it down to the shelters, to give to everybody.”

At Vera’s funeral some of the homeless turned up. Heidi also still speaks to her in her head.

She says: “When they say they live on they really do, because I chat to her [Vera] all the time, and I teach my daughters all about her so they feel they know her. She's still a huge influence in our lives.”

Vera had a catch phrase - “you go, girl” - that gives Heidi courage in her everyday life too. “I do have that attitude. I have that with the singing. I haven’t made plans yet but I know I want to do more singing next year.”

Her determination to do well and passion for singing has been there since childhood.

Heidi’s rise to fame came at an early age. She was part of the original Atomic Kitten line-up in 1997, alongside Kerry Katona and Liz McClarnon. However, Heidi left the group before they released their debut album, Right Now , in 2000.

A year later she joined the Sugababes - replacing original member Siobhan Donaghy and singing alongside Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan.

The new line-up then quickly enjoyed the release of three multi-platinum albums and huge commercial success. In 2005, Mutya was replaced by Amelle Berrabah. Four years later, final original member Keisha left in place of Jade Ewen.

The group then took an indefinite hiatus in 2011 after releasing three more albums.

Behind the scenes, however, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán quietly reformed. They finally won the rights to the name Sugababes in 2019. Since then, the original trio have rereleased One Touch along with several of their own new songs.

They also recently performed a medley of hits on Strictly Come Dancing. Heidi didn’t watch the performance. Yet despite rumours of fallouts between bandmates, she insists today: “There is no rift.”

Her memories of tours are not as raucous as one might expect. “We weren’t out partying,” she insists. “We were going from flight to flight. Next week I’ll be performing two Christmas songs and then going back to my family - the difference is I’ll be going home.”

She admits that having her appearance commented on as a young singer wasn’t always easy. “I think when you have children and with age, you just become less worried about the silly things. When you’re just a young girl of course you worry about how you look. We [the band] were constantly scrutinised, people saying things about our figures and so on. Like most young girls, you figure out who you are but it’s nice to be at an age where I really don’t care.

“I’m more concerned about my health and being here for my girls now. That’s what’s important to me.”

She hopes kids going through their own struggles will not suffer in silence. “I went round the Childline officers when I was in Liverpool recently, and I was asking them what a lot of the calls are about, because I think we all assume it's about children who are facing physical abuse and things like that, but actually they were saying a lot of children phone because of things that they experience through peer pressure or, self-esteem issues, you know this. They are there to help you chat about anything really.

“I’d say to kids who need help, not to be afraid and to just reach out. There are people at Childline who are there to support you. It’s like a friend at the end of the line and they’re not there to judge.”

For more information on the NSPCC concert, go to cadoganhall.com/whats-on/childlines-merry-little-christmas-show-2024 .