Girls Aloud: 20 years since the pop band was created on Popstars: The Rivals - what have they done since?

Popstars: The Rivals is the television talent show that saw Girls Aloud come together 20 years ago.

Auditions began for the ITV show in early September 2002, and live shows began a month later after ten girls and ten boys were chosen to compete.

Each week, on a Saturday, one girl and one boy would be eliminated from the series so that two new five-piece groups could be created.

Five girls were chosen to form Girls Aloud and five boys were chosen to form One True Voice.

The two groups began competing against each other for the Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Chart.

The final episode of Popstars: The Rivals aired live on 22 December 2002, and it was announced that Sound of the Underground recorded by Girls Aloud reached number one.

Girls Aloud went on to achieve 20 consecutive top ten hits, four number ones and six top ten albums, two of which reached number one.

Now that 20-years has passed, let’s take a look at what the former members of Girls Aloud have been doing:

Cheryl Tweedy (known as Cheryl Cole)

Cheryl married Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole in 2006 after he proposed whilst on holiday in Dubai a year earlier.

The Geordie singer, who is now 39-years-old, began her solo career in 2009 after Girls Aloud agreed to a one-year hiatus to focus on solo work.

During her solo career, she released four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014).

In February 2010, Cheryl publicly announced that she was divorcing the football star after he admitted to being unfaithful on numerous occasions.

She became a judge on The X Factor from 2008 to 2011, while also mentoring series five winner Alexandra Burke and series six winner Joe McElderry.

On 4 June 2012, Cheryl performed a duet with Gary Barlow at the Diamond Jubilee Concert to celebrate 60-years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Fight For This Love singer published her own autobiography, Cheryl: My Story, on 11 October 2012. The book was about her childhood, rise to fame and her relationships with fellow X-Factor judge Simon Cowell and her ex-husband.

In November 2012, Girls Aloud reunited for the group’s 10th anniversary. They released their comeback single, Something New, which was also the official charity single for Children in Need.

Subsequently, a documentary about the girl group, Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top, aired on ITV1 on 15 December.

However, in March 2013, following the completion of their reunion tour, Girls Aloud released a statement to confirm that they were splitting permanently.

In August 2014, Cheryl released her debut fragrance, StormFlower. She has since released a number of male and female fragrances.

The former judge returned to the X Factor panel in 2014, where she stayed for two consecutive series before leaving again.

In July 2014, she married French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini. Her second marriage came to an end two-years later.

Before her divorce was finalised, she began dating One Direction star Liam Payne. This relationship caused a lot of controversy due to him being 10-years younger than the Girls Aloud star.

Liam and Cheryl welcomed a son, Bear, in March 2017, but broke up just over a year later.

Shortly after her break up, Cheryl revealed that she had been working on her fifth studio album with Naughty Boy and former bandmate Nicola Roberts. The first single Love Made Me Do It was released in November 2018.

From 2019 to 2020, Cheryl was a judge on The Greatest Dancer. She then portrayed music manager Coco Rayne in Sky Cinema’s Four Kids and It, which was released in 2020.

In August 2021, the Geordie singer launched a 12-part BBC Sounds podcast about R&B music titled You, Me & R&B with Cheryl. The podcast drew criticism for not being hosted by a black artist.

Nicola Roberts

In 2007, Nicola started a limited production of a make-up range called Dainty Doll which was aimed at the pale-skinned market.

Nicola, who is now 37-years-old, then starred in a 2008 documentary, Nicola Roberts: The Truth About Tanning, which explored putting a ban on underage usage of tanning beds.

Following a two-year break from recording music as part of Girls Aloud, Nicola released her debut solo album, Cinderella’s Eyes, in 2011.

In November 2012, she was part of the Girls Aloud 10th anniversary reunion. They released their comeback single, Something New, which was also the official charity single for Children in Need.

Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top, a documentary about the girl group, subsequently aired on ITV1 on 15 December.

However, following the completion of the tour, Girls Aloud released a statement to confirm that they were splitting permanently in March 2013.

In May 2017, a former partner of Nicola’s admitted to one count of stalking and another to causing annoyance or inconvenience after he sent her 3,000 Twitter and Instagram messages between 2012 and 2017.

He was given a 15-month suspended sentence and a life-time restraining order not to contact the Girls Aloud star or her family.

However, he broke the restraining order within a few months. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) apologised to Nicola in 2018 for failing to prosecute this individual.

In December 2019, the Lincolnshire-born singer announced that she would join the City of Angels musical cast from March 2020. She played the role of Avril/Mallory.

In February 2020, Nicola won the first series of ITV’s The Masked Singer UK, masked as Queen Bee. In 2021, she returned as a guest judge in the final of the second series.

The 37-year-old also returned in the final of the third series in 2022, but this time to perform a duet masked as Queen Bee with Markus Feehily masked as Robobunny.

On 4 June 2022, Nicola performed Climb Ev’ry Mountain with Mica Paris and Ruby Turner at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert to celebrate the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Kimberley Walsh

During the group’s hiatus, which was agreed in 2009, Kimberley embarked on a career in acting and presenting - rather than singing.

In July 2010, she began presenting music talk show, Suck My Pop, and presented coverage for the BAFTA Awards.

In 2011, she appeared in Horrid Henry: The Movie as Prissy Polly, and made her theatre debut one year later, playing Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical.

The Yorkshire-born singer was partnered with Pasha Kovalev on series ten of Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and finished as one of the runners-up.

Whilst on Strictly, she and her former Girls Aloud bandmates released a comeback single, titled Something New.

On 4 February 2013, she released her debut album, Centre Stage which featured two brand new tracks, as well as covers.

A month later, Girls Aloud released a statement to confirm that they were splitting permanently.

Kimberley published her autobiography, called A Whole Lot of History, in September 2013.

In March 2014, the 41-year-old was part of England’s 2014 World Cup song. She collaborated with Melanie C, Eliza Doolittle, Emma Bunton, Conor Maynard, Katy B and Pixie Lott to release their version of Take That’s Greatest Day.

She returned to the West End stage in October 2015, playing the role of Jovie in Elf: The Musical.

The Bradford-born singer married Justin Scott, a former member of the British boy band Triple 8, on 30 January 2016. The couple now have three sons.

In 2017, Kimberley and her brother Adam launched a children’s clothing line called Kimba’s Kids.

She appeared in the second series of the Channel 4’s Bradford school drama Ackley Bridge as Claire Butterworth, which aired in 2018.

Kimberley once again returned to stage again in 2019, starring in both Big and Sleepless in Seattle.

Nadine Coyle

In 2006, Nadine moved from Northern Ireland to California. She was forced to commute back and forth between the UK and the US for her projects with Girls Aloud.

The Londonderry-born singer released her debut solo album Insatiable in November 2010, a year after Girls Aloud agreed on a hiatus to work on solo careers.

She was part of the Girls Aloud 10th anniversary reunion in November 2012, and featured in ITV1 documentary, Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top, which aired on 15 December.

Following the completion of the reunion tour, Girls Aloud released a statement to confirm that they were splitting permanently in March 2013.

On 15 August 2013, Nadine announced on Instagram that she was expecting a child with her ex-fiance Jason Bell. The couple reunited and their daughter, Anaíya Bell, was born on 10 February 2014.

However, a year later, Nadine moved back to Londonderry in Northern Ireland to raise her daughter - whilst Jason stayed in Los Angeles.

In late 2017, the Irish singer released her new single Go to Work on Virgin EMI Records. That same year she released her EP, named Nadine.

Her and Jason split up again in 2019 due to the distance but by 2021, Jason moved back to Northern Ireland so the couple could co-parent Anaíya during the pandemic.

Nadine participated in the nineteenth series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2019, and finished in fifth place.

In 2019, the 37-year-old released a single, Fool for Love, and a year later released another single, All That I Know.

Sarah Harding

Sarah was in an on-and-off relationship with American television personality Calum Best from 2005 to 2006.

In 2006, the pop singer signed a £100,000 deal to model Ultimo lingerie.

During the Girl Aloud’s hiatus which began in 2009, Sarah began a career in acting. She appeared in 2009 film Freefall, 2010 film Bad Day, and 2011 film Run for Your Wife.

She also appeared in the 2009 film St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, which she contributed three solo songs to the soundtrack of.

In December 2009, Sarah and her then-boyfriend, DJ Tom Crayne, launched a new nightclub named Kanaloa in London - which has now shut down.

Sarah got engaged to Tom in 2011, but they split up before tying the knot.

In October 2011, Sarah went to rehab centre in South Africa, due to alcohol dependence and depression.She did not stop drinking alcohol altogether, but it was reported that she "reined it in".

Luckily, a year later, she was fit to join her former bandmates to release a Girls Aloud comeback single and head out on a reunion tour.

However, shortly after the tour ended, Girls Aloud released a statement to confirm that they were splitting permanently.

Their documentary, Girls Aloud: Ten Years at the Top, aired on ITV1 on 15 December.

The Ascot-born singer was in a relationship with DJ Mark Foster from late 2012 to late 2014.

In 2014, Sarah competed on the BBC’s Saturday night gymnastics show Tumble. She finished in third place.

In 2015, she appeared in ITV’s Coronation Street as Joni Preston, participated in season 10 of BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef, and released her first solo extended play record, Threads.

Sarah entered the big brother house in 2017 and subsequently won Celebrity Big Brother 20.

She began a relationship with co-star Chad Johnson during the series, and they had a brief long-distance relationship after the show.

In August 2020, Sarah announced that she had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, and later - in March 2021- she revealed that her condition was terminal.

On 24 March 2021, she released her final single, Wear It Like a Crown, which she had recorded ten years earlier. All profits went to charity.

Sarah sadly died on 5 September 2021 in Manchester, at the age of 39.