S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt quits tour after Paul Cattermole’s death

S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt has stepped down from the pop group’s upcoming reunion tour following the death of member Paul Cattermole.

Paul was found dead at the age of 46 on April 6 at his home in Dorset, with there being no suspicious circumstances around his death.

Hannah and Paul dated from 2001 before splitting in 2006, with the pair rekindling their romance in 2015 before finally going their separate ways just a few months later.

Singer and actress Hannah, 42, has spoken of her devastation over Paul’s death, and her fellow band members – Jon Lee, Rachel Stevens, Tina Barrett, Jo O’Meara and Bradley McIntosh – announced they would be continuing the tour without her in October, with the production being renamed The Good Times Tour in tribute to Paul.

In the clip Jon said: ‘Sorry it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us but in all honesty we’ve been in a bit of shock and it’s taken a while for us to find the right words to describe how we feel about losing our brother Paul.’

Rachel continued: ‘It’s taken a time to process and get our heads round it all, and also taking time to share time together so that we can remember Paul and all the memories we had together.’

‘It’s just really sad,’ added Tina. ‘It’s really, really hard to process it right now.’

Bradley said: ‘We’re all in so much disbelief and Paul was a big brother to us, all of us, and even to you guys out there. He truly was a unique specimen of a human being.

‘No one could ever, ever replace our Paul but he lives on inside each and every one of us.’

Getting tearful, Jo said: ‘Whenever Paul walked into the room, you definitely knew he was there because he would just light it up with humour and love, and just a really special person.’

Referring to Hannah’s absence in the video, Jon continued: ‘You’ve probably already noticed there’s only five of us here today and although Hannah will always be a part of S Club 7, she won’t be joining us on this tour.

‘We wish her all the best for the future. However, the five of us are geared up and ready to crack on. It’s going to be our tribute to Paul.

‘So we are actually renaming the tour The Good Times Tour, which is the song that Paul was going to sing.’

Tina said: ‘We’re calling the tour The Good Times Tour in tribute to Paul because that was his song and all the fans know that was his song so it just feels right.’

‘And he’s always going to be with us,’ said Rachel. ‘Such a huge part of this tour, so involved in everything that we are planning and we’re just going to keep his memory alive and share it with all of you, and it’s going to make it even more special.’

With a tear dropping down her face, Jo said: ‘It will and thank you to all the fans who have sent so many beautiful messages to us all… We’ll see you all really soon guys.’