Mel B is "hoping and praying" her youngest daughter can move to the UK.

Mel B

Mel B

The Spice Girls star and her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte share custody of their eight-year-old daughter Madison but Mel recently filed court documents formally asking to relocate to Britain where she can work and is hoping their ongoing dispute is resolved soon.

Discussing her Christmas plans, Mel - who also has daughters Phoenix, 20 and Angel, 12, from previous relationships - told heat magazine: "The only gift I want is to have my youngest daughter Madison with me in Leeds. I'm currently in the midst of a custody battle with her dad and it's incredibly hard. But I'm hoping and praying I will get her home."

Mel has previously accused Stephen of being abusive and isolating her away from her loved ones so she admitted it was "powerful and poignant" for her to return to the Spice Girls and "reclaim" her identity earlier this year.

She said: "My costumes were out of this world and once I had my catsuit on, my weave as big and bouncy as I could possibly make it and my high heels, I felt invincible. I'd been through a terrible, 10-year abusive marriage, where I felt I'd lost who I was. And when I stood on stage in my full Scary Spice outfit, a part of me felt like I was reclaiming who I was, reclaiming those lost years. That was really powerful and poignant for me."

Mel filed court documents last month asking to return to the UK because she can't find work in the US.

Stephen currently gets overnight custody of Madison every Wednesday and every other weekend and Mel has promised to still provide him with "reasonable visitation" if she's given permission to move back to her native Leeds, pointing out the youngster travelled between Los Angeles and the UK during the Spice Girls comeback, and that her ex-husband regularly travels too. She stressed she is not trying to keep Madison away from her dad but feels "concerned" the producer will make that claim and is worried if he keeps their daughter full time in the US he won't foster a positive relationship and the little girl could turn on her.

A judge has yet to make a ruling.

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