The former Steps star put on a lot of weight after the pop group went their separate ways and she had a baby boy named Charlie. She piled on the pounds reaching 15 stone, making her virtually unrecognisable from her flat stomached days with the five piece pop act.

But after being pictured in the press five dress sizes larger than she was back in her heyday, Richards decided to take control, teamed up with a fitness trainer and worked on burning off the extra pounds. She said: "Last year I looked in the mirror and at 15 stones I didn't recognise myself, it was a far cry from my days in Steps when I was a size 10."