Geri Halliwell's mother didn't want her to go into show business.
The 51-year-old pop star shot to global fame as part of the Spice Girls in late the 1990s alongside Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie C, and Victoria Beckham but explained that whilst her father Laurence - who died in 1993 and never knew about her success - was keen for her to emulate the career of child star Shirley Temple, her mother Ana worried she may end up with a more tragic fate.
Speaking on the 'Rosebud' podcast, she told Gyles Brandreth: "To get my dad's attention - he was always behind the broadsheet - one way of getting his attention when I was a little girl was ...he loved Shirley Temple. When I was six years old, he took me to an agent and he wanted to turn me into that Shirley Temple.
"But my mother said 'No! I don't want to turn her into Judy Garland, she'll end up on drugs!'
"Which is quite wise, if you think about it. They let me be in one show. I knew how to get my father's attention was to perform. After dinner, I'd perform. My mother used to say 'Shirley Bassey arms!'"
The Spice Girls went on to become the best-selling girl group of all-time but Geri made a shock exit from the band in 1998 and went on to a successful solo career with hits like 'Mi Chico Latino' before returning for their first reunion tour in 2007.
All five members performed once again for the closing ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012, but fashion designer Victoria chose not to rejoin the band for their stadium tour in 2019.
Geri stressed that she is "really grateful" for what the Spice Girls have achieved but will only get back together with them if it "feels right" at the time.
She said: "Do you know what? I'm grateful for what we've done, I really really am. I get asked this question so much and if it felt right...Yeah, for me, I love seeing the girls and I'm really grateful to the fans, it will always be there that sort of feeling.
"But I don't... it needs to feel... if it felt right."
Despite this, Mel B teased in recent days that "really good news" was on the way for fans.
Speaking on 'The Today Show', she said: "I've been saying it forever but now we're gonna be releasing some really good news in a few weeks which involves all five of us.
"So we've got our stamps out from the Royal Mail, which has never been done before. It is massive for the Royal Mail, usually, it's the Queen or the King and now it's the Spice Girls!
"But there's five of us, with five different diaries. We're all parents.
"[Fans] will be 100 per cent satisfied and it's gonna be the gift that keeps on giving."
