Kerry Katona has confessed that she still struggles with fame and said she ‘would not be sat here today’ if it were not for her children.
The former singer, 45, stars in new BBC documentary Girlbands Forever, which offers a sneak peak at girls group of the 1990s and 2000s.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said:
‘It’s very nostalgic. We haven’t got girl bands anymore. We don’t have like proper pop stars.
‘I am so incredibly blessed and grateful that I was part of something so huge that is no longer with us.
‘But what people don’t see is, they only see this glamorous side of us.
‘They don’t see the hard work that goes into it. At one stage, all three of us were on drips.
For context, Katona auditioned for a new girl group created by OMD frontman Andy McCluskey and was chosen, along with Liz McClarnon and Heidi Range-replaced by Natasha Hamilton in 1999.
The group became Atomic Kitten, and their debut single, Right Now, was released on 29 November 1999.
Katona said:
‘I am 45 now, and I still struggle with fam, which is one of the reasons why I left. It wasn’t what I expected.
‘Aged 19, I was on antidepressants because I couldn’t handle the intrusion of what is.
‘I realised and I did not want the fame or riches. I wanted to be mum and a wife and, being a kid from a foster home, that was all I ever actually craved.’
Girlbands Forever airs on Sunday at 10:20pm on BBC Two.
