I'm a reluctant Spice says Mel C

Melanie 'Sporty Spice' Chisholm confirms she was slow to sign up for the Spice Girls' forthcoming world tour when she joined Graham Norton on The Graham Norton Show on BBC Two last month.

"I was Reluctant Spice," she says, "I was the last to make my decision because it was a hard decision to make ... I was scared we couldn't do it again. It was a weird time of my life, I had a lot of personal s**t to get over after the Spice Girls."

But she denies press rumours that she was bullied: "I never said that. How can they quote you? I wasn't bullied at all ... I just love the British tabloids, they're so imaginative! In America they're more of a joke."

About the forthcoming single, she says they all share the singing honours: "We all sing the chorus, we all have an equal part in the song ... it's a very 'Spicey' ballad, it's lovely to hear all our voices again, I love doing that kind of stuff."

Mel also comes out in support of troubled Britney Spears: "Poor Britney, I feel bad for her. She used to be looked after. Obviously she's not happy, she really needs someone to step in."

And she also reveals she's been round to the Princes' for tea: "I met them a while ago. We [the Spice Girls] were invited to Highgrove for high tea. Some of us didn't like cucumber sandwiches and we made this known to our hosts, and we were made peanut butter on toast by Prince William."

The Graham Norton Show is a So Television production for BBC Two.