July 20th 2023.
Steps singer Claire Richards opened up about her time in the much-loved band and the impact it had on her body image. The 45-year-old former pop star revealed that record bosses commented on her weight and put her on a strict diet, prompting her to develop anorexia in the nineties.
Claire shared: “It happened when I was in TSD. They did it to all of us because we were all quite curvy girls. I was probably a [size] 10 or a 12 and wasn’t big at all…But in the music kind of world and at that time that whole Kate Moss, heroine-chic, was a thing and they wanted everyone to be really, really skinny. So, we were all put on a diet. That diet was interesting because we were encouraged to eat fish fingers, peas and baked beans and have like a 900-calorie diet.”
The star went on to explain how her early experiences impacted her time with Steps: “The audition for Steps was ’97 and by that time I had cut my hair really short, stupidly, and I was wearing this stripey catsuit which I wore in the video for Last Thing on my Mind. I always use to tie a hoodie around my waist because I was really conscious of my bum because I thought I had a massive bum…They sat me down, did my audition and they said ‘Oh, we really like you. We want you to be in the band, but you’re going to have to lose weight’… it set me on a pathway of not really eating for 4-and-a-half years.”
Claire admitted that despite making progress, she has not fully regained her confidence. She said: “I mean I still haven’t managed to [regain my confidence]. I think I’m much better than I was. But I don’t think I ever will get rid of it completely because it’s played such a massive part of my life for such a long time…And I think I probably was anorexic. You know, I managed to kind of stop what I was doing to myself but that went from not eating at all, to overeating.”
The star has spoken openly about her body in the past and explained how she went from being ‘dangerously thin’ to weighing 16.5st. If you suspect you, a family member or friend has an eating disorder, contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or at
[email protected], for information and advice on the best way to get appropriate treatment.
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