The cast of Wannabe - The Spice Girls Show tell all about their character inspiration!

23 July 2019

Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

Female First asked the five ladies fronting Wannabe - The Spice Girls Show to write an exclusive piece all about the member of the group they play in the show! Chatting all about their character's inspiration and memories of the original Spice Girls, it's clear that producers of Wannabe have brought together the best group of women for the job!

Gabbie Smith - Scary

Gabbie Smith as Scary Spice / Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

One of the things I love about the character of Scary Spice, is that she has so much fun wherever she is and is 100% herself all the time. She’s full of Girl Power, she lives by GP rules; she’s loud, proud and owns the stage with her impressive presence. I first saw the Spice Girls on TV in the music video Wannabe and I remember thinking, 'wow, look at those girls running around, having a brilliant time, just doing what they want'! I totally wanted to be Scary – she taught me how to be passionate about what I do and how to entertain a crowd!

Lucy Palmer - Baby

Lucy Palmer as Baby Spice / Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

Baby Spice is the most fun role I’ve ever played. She’s bubbly, upbeat and cute and I love her outfits and the way she does her hair. I always dress as Baby Spice with the pigtails and platform shoes when I go to a fancy dress party! I also really like the variety added to her style of singing in the Wannabe show; I get to do the cute vocals but also some with a real rock-pop edge.

I first heard the Spice Girls’ music at school discos; Emma Bunton inspired me from day one because she had a care-free, fun side to her which felt totally real. Baby/Emma taught me that I could be who I wanted to be and I didn’t have to worry about what people thought of me. It’s a philosophy I’ve followed ever since.

Melissa Potts - Posh

Melissa Potts as Posh Spice / Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

Posh is cool, sassy, always fashionable, hard working and as Victoria Beckham, a fantastic mum and wife. Respect! I remember seeing the Spice Girls when I was four and I was instantly hooked; I loved all the costumes and seeing Posh coolly strutting her stuff in a little black dress just made me think, 'wow, I wanna be like her'! Victoria is strong, she’s a fabulous business woman – Girl Power! – and has always worked really hard launching her fashion brands. She’s fierce, powerful and committed and I’m empowered by her strength of character.

Natalie Gray - Ginger

Natalie Gray as Ginger Spice / Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

I’ve been obsessed with Ginger Spice since I was a kid. I love how cheeky and genuine she’s always been; she was never afraid to be silly, run around, laugh at herself and wear whatever she wanted. Also the hair was EPIC! I'll always remember watching the Wannabe music video for the first time and thinking how much fun the girls looked and I wanted to be friends with all of them. I was instantly inspired by the messages of Girl Power and the notion of friendship being something you can’t break. I love portraying classic Ginger Spice on-stage – I get to wear the most amazing costumes (the sequins!) and I love that I can rock out with my own crazy red hair and whip it about on-stage like Geri used to! One of my challenges in this show is that I have seven pairs of shoes and it’s a fun game to make sure during the quick change off-stage that I get the right shoes to go with the right outfit!

Rhiannon Porter - Sporty

Rhiannon Porter as Sporty Spice / Photo Credit: Rhian Cox

Sporty Spice was my favourite Spice Girl when I was growing up. As soon as I saw the Wannabe video on TV that was it; I spent the next year of my life practising the dance routines on my stairs at home. I loved everything about Sporty – I even begged my mum and dad to buy me a pair of the same tracksuit bottoms she wore; I enrolled in gymnastics classes so I could learn to do her high kicks and backflips and I loved her voice – for me she was always the voice of the Spice Girls and she inspired me to become a performer myself. Thrillingly, five years ago I was lucky enough to meet and work with Mel C when I was her understudy on the arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar in which she was playing Mary Magdalene. They say never meet your heroes but it was a fabulous experience; Mel is an incredible woman and I learned so much from her.