Leeds-born Spice Girl Mel B has a history in soap operas after appearing in both Emmerdale and Coronation Street before achieving global fame with the Spice Girls.
Her stint on Emmerdale included time as an extra in 1994 and two minor acting roles. After Emmerdale, she landed a more significant role in rival ITV soap Coronation Street, where she made eight appearances. Mel played Amy, a checkout worker at Bettabuy who dated Andy McDonald, before her character left Weatherfield for Trinidad.
Tragically, Mel B’s casting in Coronation Street came about due to original actress Louise Duprey’s mental health issues. Louise, who had previously starred in One Foot in The Grave and Bread, sadly passed away at the age of 43 in February 2000, reports Leeds Live.
It was later in 1994, when applying for a magazine advertisement, she would go on to successfully audition and form the Spice Girls. Their first album, ‘Spice’, took the globe by storm, topping charts in over 17 countries and earning multi-platinum status in 27.
It was likened to Beatlemania due to the overpowering wave of popularity that hit them. Ultimately, ‘Spice’ sold 30 million copies, becoming the best-selling album by a girl group and one of the most successful albums ever.
The debut single “Wannabe” conquered charts in 37 countries, and ensuing singles “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1”, “Who Do You Think You Are”, and “Mama” all snagged the number one spot in the UK.
In the memorable year of 1997, they unveiled their sophomore album, ‘Spiceworld’. The record’s initial singles, “Spice Up Your Life” and “Too Much”, soared to number one in the UK charts, establishing an unprecedented streak of seven back-to-back number one hits for a music group.
‘Spiceworld’ was met with phenomenal global success, attracting sales of 20 million copies across the globe. Further sealing their pop culture status, the Spice Girls took to the big screen with ‘Spiceworld: The Movie’, which raked in an impressive $100 million worldwide.
However, the release of “Stop” as the third single saw it peak at number two, breaking the sequence of chart-topping hits. July 1998 marked the debut of “Viva Forever” as the album’s last single; it clinched another number one spot, but notably, it was their first release after Geri Halliwell’s exit from the band in May of the same year. She went on to have a solo career and reunited with the Spice Girls line-up on two separate occasions.
Louise Duprey originally played Amy Nelson in Coronation Street before being replaced by Mel B
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