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H from Steps on 'wanting, needing and failing' to have children before sons' birth

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 27:  Ian
Ian "H" Watkins of Steps at The O2 Arena in November 2021 (WireImage)

Steps singer Ian 'H' Watkins has opened up about his journey to parenthood and 'wanting, needing' and failing to have children before his sons were born.

The Welsh singer is raising his twin sons as a single dad after he split from his partner the year after they were born.

He also said the six-year-olds, who were born via a surrogate, need to be 'run ragged like dogs' to get rid of their energy, as he spoke to Kate Thornton on White Wine Question Time with the rest of the band.

Watkins said: "I spent a long time striving, and wanting, and believing, and needing and failing [to have children]. And I got there in the end."

WATCH: Steps on 25 years of pop, their friendships and their ultimate celebrity stories

He was responding to a question from Thornton about moments of their lives where they had lived up to a Winston Churchill quote about success being 'walking from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm'.

Thornton told him she was 'endlessly proud' of him and 'all that he does' for and with his boys, calling him 'phenomenal'.

Watkins has spoken before about his 'idealistic visions' of instantly becoming a parent as a gay man, saying he knows now you need to anticipate 'setbacks and failure'.

Listen to the full episode to hear more on parenting, on 25 years in the business and some amazing celebrity encounters

He's been juggling parenthood with a Steps tour, their Platinum Collection album going to number one after its release last week, and as the band celebrate 25 years in the industry.

He called the boys 'busy'.

"My kids need to be run ragged like dogs in a field to burn off energy," he said. "They need to climb trees and stab each other with sticks, hat's what they need to do."

Read more: H on LGBTQ+ parenting: ‘It was a rocky road to becoming a dad, but I’m loving it'

Thornton and Watkins also remembered a when he had been 'crying into wine', messaging her and she called him to say: "It'll pass, just take one day at a time."

SCARBOROUGH, ENGLAND - JUNE 29: Ian
Ian "H" Watkins of Steps performs, 2018 in Scarborough. (Carla Speight/Getty Images)

Lee Latchford-Evans, his bandmate along with Lisa Scott-Lee, Claire Richards and Faye Tozer, said most other parents 'hated him' because his one-year-old son Leo sleeps through the night.

He called himself 'really lucky' because his son was a 'really cool dude.

As the last member of the band to have children, he said: "I'm experiencing what the guys have gone through now, so I'm having a drink!

"Honestly I absolutely love it, I just couldn't be happier. Best thing ever."

WATCH: Steps on their wild night swimming in Jayne Mansfield's pool