Rachel Stevens Q&A

by Helen Earnshaw | 21 November 2011

Rachel Stevens has been quite quiet on the career front since becoming a mother but she is back fronting a new capaign for Baileys.

We caught up with her to talk about the campaign and she reveals that she is back in the studio working on some new material.

- Ok so, you’re working on a new campaign with Baileys can you tell me a little bit more about it?

Yes, Baileys have got a new initiative which is called 'Add a Little Something' and it’s all about kind of getting girls together for a girls’ night. I love my girls’ nights and I love Baileys so it just felt like a really good fit.

Apparently 73% of women never or only get together on special occasions for girly nights so it felt like a really great thing to get involved in and inspire women to get together, because I’m all about getting together with my girls and having a really lovely night together!

- Good stuff, and how often do you actually get together for a girls night in?

Probably like once a month or something like that, we will do a girly night, or a glam night out or something. I’m a big foodie so I love going out for dinners and having a nice drink.

- And what thing do you feel you’re girly night has to have?

Ooh, Sushi, I love my sushi and all my girlfriends love sushi too so we will just get a really massive selection of Sushi and we will be happy as it doesn’t have to be a big thing to make the night special, it’s all about adding a little something that counts... like a cheeky glass of Baileys!

- So away from the campaign, you became a mum last year, so how have you been finding parenthood?

Parenthood is a massive learning experience, she’s been amazing, she’s a right little personality, she’s into everything, but the first sort of three months were just massively overwhelming,

- Really?

Yeah, I’m just kind of, just learning, you don’t know what you’re doing, your whole live changes dramatically so, sleepless night and all sort of those things, so it’s a massive life change.

But after that, I found after those three months, I was like ‘ah! Ok! I kind of know what I’m doing a bit more’ I had loads of support around me and three of my girlfriends also have babies of a similar age, so they were having their babies and we could kind of compare notes.

I think that was really lovely for me to be able to ask advice from them. And also because a few of my girlfriends had babies just before me so they were a little bit a step ahead of me so you could ask them, ‘oh so what kind of cup did you use’ for this or...

- Yeah, so you could learn from them a little bit?

Yeah, which was a massive help, because you do forget as well, I’ve got friends who are having babies now and they are like 'what did you do when she was 3 months?' and you do forget so it was lovely to have friends at the same stage.

- Yeah, I guess you can be that same learning support for them as well. Which is really nice.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

- So how have you found juggling parenting and your career, or were you happy to let you career take a kind of back seat?

Yeah, I was it was a perfect time for me, I knew I wanted to, I mean I got married and then, I’ve been quite maternal for a while, so it just felt like the right time for me.

Yeah, just the perfect time to concentrate on Amelie and just being Mummy and learning all of that and then, but id had always been working sporadically and doing bits and pieces.

- It’s nice I guess that you can just sort of pick up where you left off.

Yeah, I’ve always been doing bits I did lots of things and projects and things that I felt I wanted to do at that time, and now she’s one it feels like a really good time to get back to work.

- Do you bring her along to much stuff as well?

Well, sometimes, but like I was saying to you before she’s into like everything so, we literally would be chasing her around. She’s literally about to walk so I wouldn’t get much done, you would be chasing me around with the Dictaphone.

- And getting back into shape after having a child is something many women find quite difficult, so what did you do to get your post baby body back?

I was really lucky because I had a trainer from when I was about three months, a friend introduced me to this girl who’s fantastic, so I trained throughout my pregnancy pretty much and we were out a lot in the park I did a lot of walking, and also for the first 5 months I couldn’t actually eat that much because I felt quite sick, so I didn’t actually put on loads of weight and afterwards I carried on with my training, so it’s actually been ok.

But, when you’re pregnant your body does change so it is a massive adjustment.

- Your workout must have been a super friendly pregnancy one?

Yeah, and afterwards I got quite a shock, she was really pushing me, she’s like hard core but before when we were training I was like 'oh this is lovely I could get quite used to this'.

- I bet actually that must have been a bit of a shock!

Yeah she was like, ‘right, I’m going to work you now.’

- So, talking about your career, 2012 is just around the corner what plans do you have for the New Year?

I’ve just started getting back into the studio, very early days, but I’ve had a couple of sessions in the studio and so yeah, it’s exciting.

- Good, and is it all going well?

It’s very very early days, but it was quite out of my comfort zone getting back into the studio again.

- How long has it been since you were last doing any recording?

My last album was 2005.

- Oh wow, that’s gone so quickly, I can’t believe that was 2005!

Yeah, so it feels like new again. But the industry has changed so dramatically so it is like learning a new industry in a way again, for me because it’s such a different different time.

- Strictly Come Dancing is obviously in full flow, which couples are you excited about this year?

Harry, I think he’s a sexy little dancer, he’s also got really good posture hasn’t he?

- Did you watch him on Comic relief early last year!

Oh did he do that?!

- Yeah, I can’t remember who he danced with, he didn’t dance with Ola then I don’t think, and he won it was him vs. Fern Britton I think

Oh I missed it I, but, oh ok yeah, I remember the show but I missed his one. Oh yeah, so he got a bit of training in beforehand. But I think Chelsea’s cute as well, she’s really fun and she’s a great dancer.

- Yeah she’s lovely, And who do you think is going to win?

Harry

- Do you?

Yeah, Harry or perhaps Jason possibly, because I think he might have a really big following, I could imagine the sort of older women liking him, but then Harry too...

- Jason’s so competitive though, isn’t he?

Very. Very , I agree.

- Although he’s kind of joking around about it, but in a serious way.

Yeah, I think that’s coming out more and more isn’t it.

- Definitely, so back in 2008 when you appeared on the show, how would you sum up that experience when you look back on it now?

Intense full on experience, I mean I was doing 8-10 hours of dancing a day.

- Really, that’s insane. Is it really that much?

Yeah, and I think there were more couples when I did it, I don’t think there are so many couples now, so it was literally from July all the way through to Christmas. And so, you do a little bit of training before you do the show and then I did the tour in the New year, so I really did it properly.

- I came to see that tour actually!

Oh did you!?

- Yeah I loved it, it’s so fun.

So yeah, it was just an amazing experience, but it’s also so ... when you’re in it, I watch it now I just think it’s kind of, have a laugh a bit, but then when you’re in it, you don’t realise how massively you take it on and you get really into it and emotional about it

- Yeah, I can imagine.

But when you’re on the outside of it you think it’s just a bit of fun you know, which it was but..

- Was it really competitive? As we were saying about Jason, you know it’s kind of like, just in it for fun but...

Yeah, it gets really competitive, and actually I am competitive, and when you’re in it, of course, you want to go all the way, you know, especially if it’s what you do, you know if it’s your industry.

But then also, I felt like where I’d come from people were expecting you to be a really good dancer, but I’ve never been trained, I think people just automatically assume that it’s going to come really easily...

- But I guess it gives you a bit of an advantage really or didn’t do any of that sort of dancing before?

Well in a way, I don’t think it does, as I said I think people just think it will come easily, and so in some ways I think it can go against you a little bit.

- Oh ok, so what did you get out of the experience on a personal level?

I learnt, well just getting over the nerves I guess, you learn not to take things as seriously, because obviously I knew it was fun and it was a laugh and everything but... I don’t know what I learnt from it really because I’ve always been the one with a really strong work ethic, so I was always the one saying to Vincent, 'come on let’s get on you know?'

I wanted someone to push me, I like to do it and really get stuck in to it. So I don’t know what I learnt really, I just learnt to dance really I guess, but if you asked me to do that those dances now I don’t even know if I could do them because their just one off dances you know?

- Do you ever hear any of the songs you dance to and get nostalgic?

Yeah, it brings back memories, I heard the song I did the rhumba to the other day and I was like ‘hmm’ because it’s something that stands out, that’s really special.

- Definitely, and the band are so incredible.

Yeah, they’re amazing aren’t they?

- Ok, and have you continued to ballroom dance?

I haven’t really, I did a little bit after Strictly with Vincent but, it’s really difficult when you go from doing 10 hours of dancing a day, as I was saying when I do something I really have to do it and then from going from that to doing an hour Salsa class or something like that it doesn’t really quite feel the same, and also you know Vincent and all the dancers, they go off and you know?

That’s their day job so, I’m sure I will do some more, I love dancing. I would love to do some street dancing and things like that, I’d love to do a different style of dancing.

- Finally, what’s coming up for you between now and Christmas?

Well I’ll be in the studio a little bit more and other than that, that’s it its more planning for new year looking at different music and getting back into the studio a little bit.

- Exciting, and enjoying Christmas I guess?

Oh yeah, I can’t wait for Christmas. I’ll be getting lots of Baileys in for Christmas.

Rachel Stevens adds a little something special to her girls’ nights with Baileys. Baileys is offering free delicious cupcakes to 50 lucky winners every day on www.facebook.com/BaileysGB until 7th December.

Please visit the facebook site for delicious cocktail ideas and tips for your girls’ night in or out.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw