Heidi Range sends Sugababes reunion message as she returns to Liverpool

Heidi Range has given her thoughts on a potential Sugababes reunion.

Heidi visited her home town today as part of her work supporting the NSPCC, a charity which works to prevent abuse, help rebuild children's lives and support families. Tomorrow is Childhood Day, which the charity uses to raise awareness of their work and encourage donations.

Heidi is an NSPCC Campaigner for Childhood and has supported the charity’s work for two years. As part of this, Heidi and her sister Hayley visited their former school, Holy Rosary Primary, in Aintree this morning.

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The singer held a Q&A for the whole school during assembly and counted down the pupils to start the Childhood Day Mile, where the children moved a mile around the school field to raise funds for the charity. The Sugababes greatest hits played as the students completed the event.

The Childhood Day Mile can be achieved by parading around the playground, dancing in the dinner hall, or lunging between lessons.

The campaigner then headed to the NSPCC's North West Hub, at the Hargreaves Centre on Great Homer Street in Everton. Speaking to the ECHO, Heidi shared her delight at being back in Liverpool, despite visiting without her two daughters, Athena and Aurelia.

She said: “It's been such a nice trip. I mean, I come back quite a lot during half term. But I never come back without the kids, and I had to come up last night because I had to be at the school first thing this morning.

“Me and my sister got to go for dinner last night with friends. We went to a restaurant called Spire. I highly recommend it. I went with a couple of friends and my sister, and we had a nice dinner. We're going to sneak in a little sister's lunch before I get the train back.

“They were playing all the Sugarbabes songs as the children were doing the race this morning.” Laughing, she added: “I'm not sure all of them really knew our songs, I think more the teachers might have known them!”

Heidi rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s, initially as part of Atomic Kitten before joining the Sugababes in 2001 which at the time also included Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena.

Heidi left the group in 2011. Keisha, Mutya and fellow original band member Siobhán Donaghy have since performed together without her, as recently as Jools Holland’s Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve 2023.

Asked if a full Sugababes reunion was on the cards, Heidi said: “I'd say, never say never. I've not done anything yet, because my littlest one's only two. I'm enjoying being at home with her, but maybe one day, we'll see.”

On whether fans could expect more solo music from her soon, she added: “Singing is my passion and I love singing, so it's definitely something that I would like to do again at some point, but when that is, I'm not sure yet.”

While at the hub, Heidi and Hayley met staff and saw the local services the charity provides. Heidi said: “I was actually invited to one of their events in London a few years ago, and I was just blown away by what they do and how many children they help.

“They approached me. I'm a mum, I've got two little girls. Obviously, all children have that right to feel safe, so it was a privilege to be asked to get involved.

“Actually coming into the hub today has been amazing. To see firsthand the impact they have - I've met people who they've helped today and it's really interesting to see the process of what they do when they're working with people. The work that the staff here are doing is incredible.”

Heidi admitted she felt moved returning to Liverpool. She said: “I did have a moment this morning where I did feel proud going back to school because it was quite emotional. When I was in school, aged five, I dreamt of the career that I've since had.

“It’s lovely to chat to the children like that and say, look, if you dream of something like that, whether it's singing or any other career, if you've got a dream, go for it and persevere, you can do it.

“A few of them came up to me afterwards and they were like, I want to be a singer and you've really inspired me.”

Katie Fudge, NSPCC Schools Development Manager, said: “We can’t thank Heidi enough for supporting us this Childhood Day, a day that brings everyone together to have fun and help keep children safe.

“However you’re celebrating this year’s Childhood Day, thank you for supporting the NSPCC.”

You can find out more about Childhood Day here.

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