Sugababes' Amelle: 'Singing 'Too Lost in You' gave me fear!'

This Saturday (August 9) sees the launch of BBC One’s new celebrity gymnastics contest, Tumble, which promises to feature more spandex, glitter and Olympic hunk Louis Smith thank you can shake a twirling baton at.

The bookies have already installed former Eastenders star John Partridge as favourite to win, but with an ex-Sugababe and a former member of Girls Aloud on the cast list, in the form of Amelle Berrabah and Sarah Harding, we’re just as interested to see who’s going to win the battle of the girlbanders this summer.

With that in mind, I gave Amelle a call – just a day before she dislocated her ankle in training last week – to find out how she was coping with the gruelling training schedule. As well as revealing who her main Tumble rivals are, Amelle tells me what we can expect from her upcoming debut solo album and the current status of the Sugababes.

How is training for Tumble going?
“Really really good to be honest! I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty damn hardcore; I feel like I’m training for the Olympics! I used to watch gymnastics a lot as a kid and taught myself how to do the splits and stuff like that so it’s definitely a show that fitted me perfectly; I knew I wanted to do it straight away. I’ve been offered quite a lot of reality stuff and sometimes I think about it but for me it’s not about money, it’s about doing what’s right for me and doing something I’m actually interested in. The things I’m learning I never thought in a million years I’d be able to do!”

How do you think you’re going to fare? Who are your main rivals?
“To be honest, there’s quite a few people that you don’t think are going to be amazing, but I was shocked by a few people! I think John [Partridge] because of his background – he’s done ballet, he’s done a lot of theatre – is just so flexible! From what I’ve seen he’s going to be someone to look out for. But also I think Bobby [Lockwood] is amazing, I didn’t expect him to be so natural at it. It’s almost like he’s had training but I know for a fact he hasn’t! He’s very good. I think everyone has got strengths and weaknesses, though.”

Has it been hard to balance the training with working on your new album?
“The main problem is that my lead single is released on September 7, so my work load’s doubled, but it’s so worth it. I’ve been working so hard for the last couple of years, tucked away, and coming from a girlband I’ve always been told what to write and what to sing, so I’ve never really had full control before. Obviously I’m grateful for the time that I had in Sugababes – it was literally a dream come true – but I think with turning 30, growing up, I feel very content with myself and I didn’t want to lie to the audience. I’m not the kind of girl that wears short skirts and high heels on stage or in my day-to-day life. I’ve done a very clean, natural, simple [album]campaign and I hope everyone gets it and gets to know me.”

With your solo career only just starting, does this mean the Sugababes aren’t going to be making a comeback any time soon?
“To be honest with you, I don’t even know myself. Even when my friends ask me whether something’s going on, I’m like ‘I genuinely don’t know.’ There’s been talk that we will get back together but then one of us doesn’t want to, so it’s one of those discussions that I think will be left until next year now. I’m up for anything. I love being in the Sugababes and it’s something that’s moulded me into who I am today. I’d love to do it again but the circumstances have to be right and all three of us have to want to do it 100 percent because otherwise it’s not fair on the audience. So ‘maybe’ is the best answer to that!”

You’ve recently had an acting role in British film Plastic, in which you played a lesbian. How was that?
“It was definitely different! Originally I was supposed to play a receptionist in Miami but because of work schedules I couldn’t get there on the day. So they turned around and said to me, ‘Okay, we’ve got another part which you can do’. I’m used to doing music videos so it was very surreal for me, but [my co-star] Alfie Allen is very professional and my scene was with him so he made me feel very comfortable. I had a few lines – it’s not exactly the biggest part in the world – but it was more just for the experience. And I had to snog a beautiful young lady called Chloe! It was so funny because I could see the fear in both of our eyes, and we kept putting lip balm on and asking for chewing gum! Haha! It’s quite cute thinking back to it! We had to do about 30 snogging takes, but I had a fun day – a different day!”

And finally: Looking back, what are your favourite and least favourite Sugababes songs?
“Ohhh… I love About You Now. It reminds me of summer time and yellow, bright colours. We were having so much fun on that day so it makes me smile when I think of that song – and obviously it was one of our biggest Number Ones. I love Red Dress as well, just because it was my very first [single with the band] so I’ve got lots of memories of it and lots of funny memories from the video as well. My least favourite… Um, I suppose the most nerve-wracking one for me was Too Lost in You for some reason. I used to get this mad fear when we sang it live, because you don’t have a beat when you start, so my heart used to be racing like ‘Oh my god, please get the timing!’. And I remember Heidi would be looking at me like ‘Keep it cool girl, keep it cool girl!’. So it reminds me of that, but it’s not a song I don’t like; they all mean something to me if I’m honest. There’s nothing I genuinely don’t like!”

Tumble begins at 6.30pm on BBC One this Saturday (Aug 9). In the meantime, you can check out a picture of the full celebrity cast here.

Sugababes’ Amelle: ‘Singing ‘Too Lost in You’ gave me fear!’

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