She's known for her outrageous behaviour, but Mel B tells Dean Piper she's so worried about her 14-year-old daughter, she's set some very firm ground rules

Life after the Spice Girls has been a mixed bag for the famous five. Melanie Chisholm’s gone back to her theatre roots, Emma Bunton’s carved out a career as a radio DJ and Geri Halliwell is... well, Geri Halliwell.
And while Victoria Beckham has stolen the limelight with her multi-million-pound fashion brand, Melanie Brown has been making a name for herself on the global talent show circuit – partly thanks to a blossoming friendship with Simon Cowell.
She recently replaced Sharon Osbourne as a judge on America’s Got Talent, and prior to that spent two years as a judge on Australia’s X Factor, took the Tess Daly role on the Aussie version of Strictly Come Dancing and went down well as a guest judge on the UK’s X Factor last year with her combative comments.
‘Being on The X Factor’s brilliant wherever you are in the world, but I thoroughly enjoyed the UK one and I’d love to come back,’ she says. ‘I know people are leaving and I know I was liked, so why not?’

She's known for her outrageous behaviour, but Mel B says she's so worried about her 14-year-old daughter, she's set some very firm ground rules

But first she’s dipping her toe back into the music business with her new single, For Once In My Life, 15 years after she last topped the charts with I Want You Back. She
financed it herself and even splashed out on a video.
‘It’s been well received and that shocked me, to be honest. I told my husband Stephen I wanted to do it, so we recorded the song in a few hours. We decided to put it out on the internet and just see what happens. I did zero promotion for it, but a good song is a good song. The video, the co-writers, the producers – I paid for it all. I have a lot more control that way.’

Control is an issue that seems to dog the one they call Scary Spice. While she has earned a reputation as a gold-standard diva, reports have claimed it’s Stephen who’s too controlling in their marriage, and one of the reasons Mel no longer speaks to her family back home in her native Leeds.
Last year her mother claimed Mel had cut her off completely after she questioned the wisdom of marrying a man with a violent past (he was given probation for an attack on a previous girlfriend). Mel won’t discuss this, but insists her husband of six years is not the problem. ‘Stephen’s my rock, he’s been there for me in many ways,’ she says. ‘He’s been helping to manage my career and he’s great with business.’
That business now involves everything from diet products to bottled water, yet when she reflects on her time with the Spice Girls it’s obvious she’d give everything up to get back on the road.

‘The truth is I was always the one that wanted the Spice Girls to continue,’ she admits. ‘I didn’t want it to end and I still don’t. Even though I’ve always had my own career going on, I’m always up for a reunion. Always.

She's dipping her toe back into the music business with her new single, For Once In My Life, 15 years after she last topped the charts with I Want You Back

‘It’s a shame we’re not doing more as a band. There are no cogs turning right now but put it this way, there are always at least two of us talking about doing something. I spoke to Emma the other day – we’re all trying to get together for Mel C’s 40th in January – and we were saying how we’d like to go back on the road. If we were able to do the Olympics closing ceremony, getting on and doing rehearsals for three weeks, then I think anything is possible.’
There’s one problem though. Victoria Beckham made no secret of the fact she was ready to put the Spice Girls behind her after the Olympics. So would Mel and the others consider a four-piece reunion without her?
‘I don’t know. Maybe. It depends on what it is and when it is. With our 20th anniversary approaching in 2014 something is going to happen. Everyone knows I’m always championing a reunion. I truly believe it’ll happen sooner or later.’
She says she was bitterly disappointed when Viva Forever!, the West End musical based on the Spice Girls’ hits, closed in June. ‘But I stand by the fact it was a good show, and how many other bands can say they had their songs turned into a West End musical? Not many.
'We were always going to have a tough time with critics. We were working with Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders – two of the best people in the business – and we gave it our best shot. Judy said she hopes to take it to Asia or Australia and there’s a possibility of a UK tour.’
But Mel and Stephen have decided to settle permanently in LA for their children’s sake. Phoenix, 14, from her marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, six, from her relationship with actor Eddie Murphy, and Madison, two, all have American accents, while Stephen’s stepdaughter Giselle, nine, is happy at school there.
‘The kids do have American accents, unfortunately, yes,’ she says. ‘I’ve been desperately trying to get some Leeds accent into them but it hasn’t worked. Occasionally there’s the odd twang but they’ve been in LA all their lives. Phoenix is about to start high school and I don’t want to move her again. The UK will always be home-home – Leeds is my real home – but LA is our base.’

Melanie Brown with her daughter Angel (far left), husband Stephen Belafonte (left), his daughter (center) and her daughter Phoenix at the Los Angeles premiere of Shrek Forever After

It was in America that she met Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s children, Ivan and Ange, and bizarrely they invited her to spend Christmas in the war-torn African nation. At the time Mel said, ‘Ivan and Ange are adorable and they invited us out there. I said to the kids, “Do you want to go to Africa and see lions and tigers or stay at home and watch TV all day?” It was a no-brainer.’
She thought better of the idea however when she realised Paul Kagame could face a war crimes trial, and they spent Christmas in LA instead.
She’d do anything for her children but is particularly close to Phoenix – they seem more like best friends than mother and daughter. ‘For six years of her life I was a single parent so that bond is really strong. But I cringe my kids out all the time. For example, when Phoenix saw my Olympic Spice Girls costume the other day she looked at me and said, “You wore that?” It was so see-through. But I know for a fact when I’m out she’ll secretly try on my clothes. We’re exactly the same size.’ 

The Spice Girls (from left to right) Melanie Brown (Mel B), Melanie Chisholm (Mel C), Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham

Mel’s already had to discuss sex with her. ‘We had that talk a year ago. She knows the door is always open for her to talk to me about absolutely anything. It doesn’t worry me, thinking about her meeting someone and having sex. It will happen at some point and I’ve just said to her to make sure it doesn’t happen too soon. It’s a special moment giving somebody your first kiss or whatever it is. You need to not be doing that at 14.
‘Some people might think I’m scary as a mum and the last person you’d want to talk to openly about sex with, but it’s important as a mother. You can’t just have the chat and then leave it, though. You need to constantly check in and I know every single code and password on all her social media. I can check whatever I want if I’m worried. There’s trust there and I know she’s safe. I’m very nosy with my kids and I think that’s the way you have to be in this day and age.’
Like Victoria Beckham, who was desperate for a little girl to go with her three boys, Mel would love to have a son to go with her three girls. And with her biological clock ticking, she may try soon.
‘I’ve said to Stephen I’d like to try for that boy. I’m a sucker for kids and I love the fact we have a big family. I’m 38 now so I need to get a move on if we’re going to do it. I don’t feel old and my body is in good shape, so maybe we could make it work.’ 

America's Got Talent featuring (L-R) Howie Mandel, Mel B, Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Nick Cannon