Millions of records sold and millions in the bank, star-studded parties, celeb boyfriends…The life of a Girls Aloud star must be a blast. But you won’t find Kimberley Walsh spilling out of the latest hotspot at 3am. The down-to-earth singer (and business brains of the group) tells Liz Jones why she craves a ‘normal’ life
Scroll down for a behind-the-scenes video of Kimberley's New Look campaign and an interview about her fashion and beauty loves
Curves Allowed: Kimberley Walsh reclines in a clingy strapless dress
Kimberley Walsh is describing the moment she needed the loo halfway up Mount Kilimanjaro and the guide had to help out. ‘My hands were so cold I couldn’t pull up my pants properly, so he had to help me. By then I was past caring.’
Was this the hardest challenge she has ever faced? Trekking up a mountain, not being able to go to the loo in private, suffering from the cold and altitude sickness? ‘You can’t get any harsher than that, but we did it. It was amazing. Before we went I had insomnia with the worry. And that’s not like me.’ What kept her going on a trek that, in the end, raised £3.4 million for Comic Relief? ‘It was Cheryl.
As you get higher the altitude sickness kicks in. I’m a strong person emotionally, I’m not one of those people who cries – if I do it’s a sign something’s really wrong. But on the mountain I was an emotional wreck. I lost my phone, which didn’t even work up there, but it felt like my life had ended. Cheryl was going, “Please calm down because you’re making me more scared.” We helped each other through it. Cheryl and I have been through so many things over the past seven years that climbing the mountain almost felt normal because we were together.’
I wonder what on earth made her agree to the challenge in the first place. ‘It was Gary Barlow. I used to share a room with my older sister and she had all these Take That posters on the wall. When I told her I’d met him she said, “He’s the only person I really care about that you’ve met since you became part of Girls Aloud.”’
Dress up: Kimberley denies the band values looks over personality - indeed she claims she never wears make-up at home
Kimberley was too young to be a Take That fan, a fact that makes me feel as old as the hills. ‘Gary is so lovely, he’s really funny. You almost don’t want to make him feel old by saying, “When I was young we had your picture on our wall.” A few times on Kilimanjaro I looked at Gary and thought, “I really want to push you off this mountain for making us do this,” because he was moaning as well, saying, “I can’t believe this, it’s awful, isn’t it?” and I was like, “It was your idea!”’
I wonder, too, how she and Cheryl, surely the most over-made-up, hair-extension and acrylic-nail wearing, miniskirt-donning young women in Britain, coped with not being able to wash their hands, let alone apply eyelash glue. ‘All that had to go. There was no point caring. Try to imagine walking on a piece of vertical concrete, zigzagging for seven hours at minus 30 degrees, the wind nearly blowing you over. It makes you want to cry.’
I tell her I’ve long been a critic of Wag culture, which has surely reached its zenith in Cheryl. I’ve always felt the scantily dressed, over-made-up uniform flies in the face of 40 years of feminism, and makes young women appear weak and girlie. She shakes her head, a mass of 40s-style curls, liberally enhanced with the prerequisite extensions.
‘We dress up because we’re in a band, it’s part of the performance. I never wear a scrap of make-up at home’
‘We dress up because we’re in a band, it’s part of the performance. But just because we look the way we do doesn’t make us weak. I know young girls copy us but that doesn’t mean we think being beautiful is more important than having a personality. I never wear a scrap of make-up on holiday or when I’m at home. My boyfriend [former boy band member Justin Scott] sees two different people: the me with the make-up and the hair, and the normal me.’
It must be hard, though, being unable to leave the house or sit on the beach without fear of being photographed. ‘I was in Hawaii for ten days recently and there was a photographer there the whole time and I had no idea, which I am glad about because it didn’t spoil my holiday. But at the same time I’m like, “God, maybe I should have made a bit more effort,” but you can’t live your life like that.’
Brains and beauty: Kimberley also looks after the finances of Girls Aloud
Kimberley might look like a glamour puss, but she is no fool. After all, she looks after the finances of the band, as secretary and director of their official company, which, given that they have sold 2.2 million albums, with all their singles reaching the top ten, is a huge undertaking. ‘I am a little bit of a bossy boots, but it’s for everybody’s benefit.’
I do still wonder, though, about the cult of the TV talent show, where young working-class men and women believe their only way out is not through education or years of paying their dues, but by winning a competition. So often, someone of 18 or 19 wails that winning is their last chance, which is ridiculous, given how young they are.
Kimberley got her big break on Popstars the Rivals, an antecedent of The X Factor, in 2002. ‘Before I auditioned for Popstars I was in my third year studying English at Leeds University, but I was always bunking off to go to auditions [she didn’t complete the degree]. If I had felt every audition I went to was my last chance, I wouldn’t have carried on. You have to get used to knock-backs. When I was voted off Popstars, I went back to my job as a waitress. I was only picked in the first place after another contestant was disqualified for being too old. So I know what it feels like to be told no, and I would have carried on trying.’
Kimberley knew she wanted to perform from the age of five, but never felt show business was an easy option. She always had a good work ethic: aged 13, she cleaned a bakery in her home town of Bradford every Saturday from 6am to 2pm. Her dad John used to be in a band, while her mum Diane (her parents are divorced) was a music teacher.
‘My two sisters are actresses and my brother acted a bit when he was younger. I was a quiet, laid-back child, very placid, but when it came to performing I had no fear at all. I had the two different sides.’
Is fame all it’s cracked up to be? How does she manage to stay normal? ‘I’ve got one friend from school, Alix, who is still my best friend. She has supported me throughout my career and she keeps me sane. And I still do normal things such as get the tube, but I get told off.’ By whom? ‘The girls and by the management. They think it might be dangerous, but sometimes I just want to. I took the train the other day up to Leeds to do a breast cancer “high-heel-athon”. Obviously I didn’t dress up and I kept my sunglasses on – and it was fine.’
From left: With boyfriend Justin Scott and as the face of New Look
This anecdote is Kimberley all over: unassuming, grateful for her success rather than moaning about not having a normal life. When I mention Cheryl’s new solo career, expecting a smidgen of jealousy, Kimberley beams with pride (indeed, during Cheryl’s performance of her single on The X Factor, Kimberley could be seen cheering wildly).
‘It doesn’t spell the end of the band,’ she says, ‘but we all want to do our own thing. I would love to star in a musical.’
I wonder if she would like to bag a L’Oréal hair ad to rival Cheryl’s. ‘I’m always being told I should do a lipstick ad because of my huge mouth,’ she laughs. ‘But I think my skin might be too old for a beauty campaign. I’m 28 now. The wrinkles are starting to show!’
Did she grow up thinking she was pretty? ‘You know when you go to secondary school and boys start to make a bit of fuss?’ No, I don’t actually, but do go on. She laughs. ‘Well, I didn’t feel that comfortable with the attention. I was quite shy and naive and scared of boys.’
‘I’m not vain enough to starve myself. I’d much rather be content in my life and a normal size’
I tell her she’s unbelievably beautiful. ‘Well, you are beautiful, too!’ she shouts in that Bradford brogue. ‘I’m like any other normal girl, I have ups and downs; I can focus and be healthy for a few weeks and then I’ll have a bad week. If I ate what the rest of the girls ate I’d be three times the size, but at the same time, I’m not vain enough to starve myself. I’d much rather be content in my life and a normal size. I’m a ten on top and a 12 below. I think it’s quite good for young girls that in the band we’ve all got different figures.’
What about the accusation, by Germaine Greer, that Cheryl is ‘too thin to be a feminist’? ‘That’s ridiculous. Cheryl eats what she wants, when she wants.’
Kimberley and Cheryl climbing Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief
The climbing celebs meet Gordon Brown
I ask what is the most she has ever spent on a dress. ‘I’m a little bit sensible compared to the other girls. I’d spend £500 on a dress for something special, maybe £500 on shoes, £1,000 on a bag. I like jewellery, I feel at least that keeps its worth. I can’t really justify spending a lot of money on clothes when there are so many other things I could spend it on, like saving for a mansion. I really want to live in the country one day.’
She says travelling to Africa changed her perspective on ‘things’. ‘I’ll be in the shower with five gels to choose from and think, “It’s all very extravagant.”’
Her frugality brings us nicely to her new role, as the face and body of New Look. She replaces Alexa Chung, who was perhaps too skinny and edgy for the New Look customer to identify with.
‘They did a poll, asking New Look customers who they wanted as the new face, and it was me, so that was really flattering. New Look does a really good job following trends and making them accessible. I know what suits my shape and I know how something’s going to look on me, and I don’t really care where it’s from, high street or designer.’
I tell her that when I interviewed the members of All Saints when they were starting out they all swore that marriage and babies wouldn’t distract them from their musical careers, but, of course, the band broke up in a sea of nappies. Cheryl seems the most likely to announce she’s taking time off to have a baby, but will Kimberley be far behind?
‘I’m a bit broody at the moment, we both are a little bit.’ I wonder if she means her and her boyfriend, or her and Cheryl, and she blushes.
‘I think the wedding is inevitable: we’ve been together for six years, so we have stood the test of time. I don’t want him to feel pressured just because everyone else is getting married; he’s just waiting for the right time I think, I hope! And as for babies, I’m excited about that phase of my life and feel I’m ready. I want lots!’
‘I think the wedding is inevitable; he’s just waiting for the right time to propose, I hope!’
As we finish our interview, Kimberley tells me her first speed dial will be to her boyfriend to find out ‘what we’re having for tea’; the second person she will dial is, of course, Cheryl.
‘We are as thick as thieves. We were going to go out the other night, and then Cheryl said, “Just come round, we can have a nice evening, have a drink, get some food, there’s nothing to worry about.” If you go out it can feel like work because you’re the one everyone wants to see.’
Sometimes, being famous lives up to its promise. A giant billboard featuring Kimberley has just been erected on the side of the New Look superstore in Doncaster. ‘I was going home the other night and my driver said, “Kimberley, you’re on the front of the shop!” I said, “Let’s not let anybody see us looking at it!” But it did feel good.’
Kimberley Walsh is the face of New Look’s autumn/winter campaign. Available in store and online at newlook.com
Ref: dailymail.co.uk
