The ‘diva demands’ halting Saturdays comeback despite big money offer after one member was ‘ghosted’ over reunion plans
THEY’VE spent years dodging questions and dishing out the classic “never say never” when asked about a reunion for The Saturdays.
Now it looks like Frankie Bridge and Rochelle Humes might have finally found a way to make everyone happy – and The Sun can exclusively reveal when and how.
There are always rumours that the girl group – who went on hiatus in 2014 – will perform at Mighty Hoopla festival and we can reveal Frankie and Rochelle, both 37, are closer than ever to making it happen.
Earlier this year This Morning host Rochelle revealed her son Blake, five, is desperate to see his mum on stage and just this month Loose Women panellist Frankie confirmed she would be up for the LBGTQ pop bonanza, saying “the gays deserve it”.
A well-placed insider said: “It’s getting to the point now where Frankie and Rochelle are close to saying yes just so everyone stops asking them about it.
“A Saturdays set at Mighty Hoopla would go down a storm and but looks like that’s about as much as they’d be prepared to commit to.
“Offers have been made, there have been talks and – while it’s far from confirmed – for the first time it looks like everyone is keeping an open mind.”
The Saturdays line-up also included Vanessa White, Una Healy and Mollie King and when asked about their decision to go their separate ways more than a decade ago, Rochelle recently told Jamie Laing on his Good Company podcast that it came down to money.
She said: “For a period of [time], music artists were making money touring.
“The tours and the brand deals were where you would make your money. The records weren’t for us.
“So we’d be the face of a shampoo and all have our own scent – that’s where we’d make our money. Those brand deals were really important to us and so was the touring.”
Meanwhile Frankie has repeatedly stated in recent years that she feels “too old” to be a pop star, firmly telling OK! Magazine previously: “I don’t think it will happen.”
So it is no surprise that it’s Frankie and Rochelle, who first shot to fame as members of S Club Juniors in 2001, are the ones calling the shots on if and when a Saturdays comeback takes place – and they’ve made their conditions clear.
Our insider added: “Frankie and Rochelle have been pop stars since they were 12 so they’re comfortable with that chapter being closed now.
“If they say yes to a reunion gig, they’ve made it clear they’re not interested in recording new music or going on the road again. Their families come first.”
In a stark contrast to the attitudes of Frankie and Rochelle, Una, 44, has been championing a full-scale return for The Saturdays pretty much since they announced their hiatus.
But she’s not had it easy. Speaking to Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show previously, Una confirmed that The Saturdays had made a pact that they would only reunite if all five members were on board – and she was having trouble convincing everyone.
She said: “They all went very quiet on me. I put it out there to them [in their WhatsApp group chat], when Girls Aloud were back together [in 2023], I was like, ‘we should be doing it again’.
“There was just silence. I thought to myself, ‘tumbleweed’. So I sent a gif of tumbleweed into the group chat and there were still tumbleweeds. They didn’t even do a little laughing emoji back. That was a bit, ‘ouch’. You know?”
We’re told that, for now at least, Una is taking what she can get – and pinning her hopes on the Mighty Hoopla coming off.
“Just to have everyone nearly on the same page for a one-off gig is more than Una expected to happen,” our source said.
“But they all know that one performance will never be enough for her and it won’t be long until she’s back to her old tricks in the group chat.”
Watch this space.