Melanie C of the Spice Girls, during an interview for Digital Spy, said that the group hope to premiere the highly-anticipated musical, Viva Forever, "towards the end of next year", and praised "fantastic" producers Judy Kramer and Jennifer Saunders.

"It's sounding really exciting. There's lots of great Spice Girls songs in the show, lots of hits, some album tracks, so we're very excited... Jennifer Saunders has written the story, who as everybody knows is hilarious and brilliant. We've known Jennifer for many years - she was in the Spice Girls movie!"

Asked if the musical could spark another Spice Girls reunion tour, she admitted: "Who knows, we don't plan to get together and perform again. I didn't think it would happen the first time."

Melanie C is no stranger to the West End stage, having performed in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre

Viva Forever tickets will be on sale early next year.

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