What happened to the Popstars icons? The stars’ lives now as Hear’Say and Liberty X join forces for arena tour 25 years after they were formed

On Thursday, the exciting news was announced that Hear’Say and Liberty X are joining forces for a huge arena tour 25 years after both shooting to fame on TV talent show Popstars in 2001. 

The two bands will perform together for the first time ever on a 13-date arena tour in 2027, with shows in cities including Dublin, London, Manchester and Leeds.

The Hear’Say reunion features four of their original members: Danny Foster, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw and Noel Sullivan, and Liberty X return with their entire original line-up: Michelle Heaton, Jessica Taylor, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm and Kelli Young.

Hear’Say won Popstars, while Liberty X were the runners up on the show – so it remains to be seen if the rivalry will continue on the tour.

Last week Myleene Klass confirmed she would not be taking part in the Hear’Say reunion, blaming her busy schedule. 

So as the others all prepare to reunite, what happened to the stars of the show in the past 25 years… 

Myleene Klass – Hear’Say

Arguably the most successful member of Hear’Say, Myleene Klass, 48, has gone on to become a household name in the UK. 

Following Hear’Say’s split she released a solo classical album before pivoting to television and radio presenting, hosting series including Popstar to Operastar and The One Show. 

Myleene also earned a new legion of fans when she came second on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2006, where she famously wore a little white bikini while showering.

She returned in 2023 for the all-stars series, which she won.

Myleene was also a regular panellist on Loose Women and currently presents shows on both Smooth Radio and Classic FM.

Yet while her career has thrived, Myleene has faced many lows in her personal life. 

After 11 years of dating she wed Graham Quinn in an intimate ceremony in 2011, with just 16 guests in attendance. 

However, their romance came to a crashing close six months later with Myleene claiming he walked out on her and their two daughters on her birthday – something he has always denied.

Myleene has said that the divorce, which was granted 18 months after the split in a 100-second hearing at the High Court, left her humiliated with her finances spiralling and an alcohol dependency.

Last year, she claimed that she walked in on Graham cheating on her with a fellow celebrity, saying she witnessed them taking each other’s clothes off on the balcony of her home. 

Refusing to name the woman, Myleene hinted that the person in question has built a career off a ‘family brand’ and clarified that it was before they had got married. 

They share daughters Ava, 19, and Hero, 15. 

Myleene is now engaged to PR executive Simon Motson and the couple share son Apollo, seven. 

However, before welcoming her son, Myleene tragically suffered from four miscarriages. She then successfully campaigned to change UK miscarriage care and bereavement leave laws. 

She was awarded an MBE in the 2025 New Year Honours list for her services to women’s health, miscarriage awareness and charity. 

Earlier this year, Myleene ruled out any plans of a Hear’Say reunion, saying that while she had been approached it was ‘not something I can commit to right at this moment’. 

Danny Foster – Hear’Say

Before appearing on Popstars, Danny Foster, 47, trained as a youth worker and sang only to himself while he worked as a cleaner.

After a stint away from the limelight he made an appearance on the 2013 series of The Voice as he attempted to try his luck at getting a spot in the competition.

However, it made for cringeworthy viewing as none of the judges turned their chairs for him during his audition.

Danny went on to tour with a soul group created by himself, called the Big Soul Corporation and in 2016 he tied the knot with Victoria Goddard.

He also travelled the world and developed a love of meditation and yoga after spending time in India.

Danny said his ‘life completely changed’ on his spiritual holiday, where he spent time with monks and stayed in ashrams – a Hindu monastery – giving him a new perspective on life.

He went on to found Love Includes You, described as a ‘meditation, self love and personal development platform’.

The initiative promotes community events, daily practices and meditation inspired by the wisdom imparted on him from the monastic brotherhood. 

Suzanne Shaw – Hear’Say

A lover of performing since childhood, Suzanne Shaw, 45, performed in various theatre shows, an ABBA tribute band, and had bit parts in TV shows before her big break on Popstars. 

She thought her dreams had come true when she was picked to join the band but wasn’t prepared for it to end so soon, turning to alcohol and sleeping pills following the ‘traumatic’ split.

Determined to keep performing, she landed a role in the Summer Holiday musical in London’s West End, and later in a UK tour of the show starring alongside Darren Day and Christopher Biggins.

She quickly fell for Darren and the pair went on to welcome son Corey in 2004, but the couple split just three months after the birth. 

The former Hollyoaks star was reported at the time to have left Suzanne, saying: ‘I don’t do family.’

Speaking about it on Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show last year, Suzanne revealed that her ex ‘pretty much went out to get a curry and didn’t come back’ and said the fact she developed postnatal depression was ‘no surprise’.

Suzanne got her mojo back when she won Dancing On Ice in 2008, and the following year tied the knot with DJ Jason King, but they split in 2012. 

She also landed a role on Emmerdale but left the soap after a year. 

Suzanne went on to welcome her second child – son Rafferty – in 2015 with fiancé Sam Greenfield. 

This year brought highs and lows for Suzanne, who in January had a ‘messy and unexpected’ break up with Sam after 11 years together.

Yet in March she became a grandmother for the first time after her son Corey welcomed a baby boy called Colton with his girlfriend Erin.

Noel Sullivan – Hear’Say

Noel Sullivan, 46, was working part-time as a waiter in Cardiff when he landed a spot in Hear’Say.

Refusing to return home after the band split, Noel began working in musical theatre.

Among his most notable roles was playing Danny Zuko in a production of Grease at the Jersey Opera House, starring alongside Clare Buckfield as Sandy.

In 2019 he played the lead role in the West End production of School Of Rock, piling on two stone for the part because he didn’t want to wear a fat suit on stage.  

Comedy fans were also delighted to see Noel pop up with a cameo role in BBC hit Gavin and Stacey, where he played himself.

Cast as a friend of Ruth Jones’s Nessa, he played cards with the character’s father, Neil, and husband-to-be, Dave Coaches, the night before the wedding.

Although he did not appear in the comedy until its final episode, the script made repeated references to Noel and Nessa’s friendship throughout its three series.

Noel’s other acting credits include The BBC’s Ordinary Lies in 2016 and Years and Years in 2019.

Back in 2017, to mark 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, Noel decided to publicly come out on his Instagram account, and announced his relationship with his partner.

Last year, Noel spoke about being forced to repress his sexuality during his time on Popstars.

Noel, who is now happily married to his husband James, had kept his sexuality under wraps at the time and admitted he was ordered to not speak about it.

He explained: ‘I was 19, 20 years old at the time, so at an age when I should be exploring who I am.

‘To be boxed back up and chucked back in the closet was a damaging experience for me, it took a lot of time to find some resolution to that and not feel guilty or shameful because of it.’

Discussing his time in Hear’Say, Noel said previously:  ‘It’s taken a long time that I can look back with rose tinted glasses.

‘We were the guinea pigs for now what is X Factor and all the other shows. It seemed like quite a whirlwind.’

Kym Marsh  – Hear’Say

Kym Marsh’s time in Hear’Say was a tumultuous one, with the star quitting the group in a blaze of glory after feeling ‘betrayed’ by her bandmates. 

The actress, 50, opened up about the group’s in-fighting in her autobiography, explaining things were already tense between them. 

Then at the start of 2002, Hear’Say were invited to play to British troops in Oman but Kym needed to stay in the country for her young children David and Emilie whom she shared with ex Dave Cunliffe.

Kym recalled: ‘There was a misunderstanding that I didn’t want to go to Oman and a newspaper got wind of the story.

‘When I asked my PR agent he said that someone in the band had spoken to the newspaper. I felt utterly betrayed. Then I was asked by a newspaper if I had any comment and I was so angry I said, ‘I quit.’

‘I’m sorry I quit through a newspaper rather than sitting down with the rest of the band. If we could have had a chat to clear the air it wouldn’t have been so bitter afterwards.’

Kym was quickly replaced by Johnny Shentall, but after Hear’Say’s next single, Lovin Is Easy, flopped, the band split. 

The following year, Kym released an album titled Standing Tall, which peaked at number nine in the UK.

Her first TV acting role came in 2005, and within a year she’d landed the part that would reshape her life – Michelle Connor in Coronation Street, a character she played for the next 13 years. 

Then there were stints on Waterloo Road and as a Morning Live presenter, and on Strictly Come Dancing. 

In 2002 she tied the knot with EastEnders star Jack Ryder, selling the pictures of their wedding to OK! magazine for a reported £300,000. 

But seven years later it was all over, with Jack filing for divorce on the grounds of adultery following her apparent fling with second-husband-in-waiting Jamie Lomas. 

Friends initially feared Kym had rushed into the relationship with Jamie and the couple were together less than two months when Kym became pregnant with their first child.

Tragically their son Archie Jay died moments after being born 18-weeks early.

In 2011, they welcomed a daughter named Polly.

They wed in September 2012 but were divorced by 2014, with Kym said to be stunned by Jamie’s decision to break it off.

In 2013, a year before Jamie ended their marriage, she had a five-month fling with Coronation Street co-star Oliver Mellor, who is now married to model Rhian Sugden.

Oliver later claimed he dumped the actress because he knew she would never leave Jamie.

Kym met her third husband Scott – a soldier with the British Armed Forces – in 2019, before he proposed in 2021 while ringing in her birthday. They married the same year, however their split was announced in May 2023.

She is currently engaged for a sixth time. This time the man in question is Tom Dickinson, who popped the question in March after seven months of dating.  

Michelle Heaton – Liberty X

Despite being the runners up, Liberty X went on to eclipse the success of winners Hear’Say, bagging ten consecutive UK top 20 singles.

Yet while to the outside world it looked like they were living the dream, Michelle, now 47, has previously revealed that she struggled with being fat-shamed and trolled over her appearance. 

Clips from Popstars recently went viral, with fans rewatching the series in a different light, and branding the show ‘unhinged’ for its fat-shaming, misogyny and exploitation of contestants.

Reflecting on the change in culture, Michelle mused: ‘It’s crazy. There’s loads of things from that time period that you think ‘wow, how did they get away with it?”

‘How they judged people and what they said about people was not OK.’

Michelle – who has since been on tour with the Ultimate Girl Band Show – continued: ‘They were the ones who picked Hear’Say so how dare they then tell them to change themselves.’ 

Reflecting on her experience, she said: ‘I had a lot of fat shaming in Liberty X. I put on a lot of weight over the first two years, I was drinking, eating pizza every night. Living on the road it was all sandwiches and fast food. 

‘The other two girls got away with it but I just got bigger and I was named the fat one of the group.’

Since the show, Michelle has kept busy – still doing regular gigs with Jessica and Kelli and has also appeared on a series of other TV shows.

These include Celebrity Big Brother (2009), The Big Reunion (2013), Dancing on Ice (2023), Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (2023), and Celebrity MasterChef.

She has also filled in as a temporary member of Atomic Kitten for international shows and has taken on various pantomime roles. 

Michelle has also been open with her followers about her sobriety after struggling over the years with an alcohol and drug addiction.

Kelli Young – Liberty X

Kelli, 44, has kept busy doing various gigs with Jessica and Michelle, while she has also appeared as a panellist on Loose Women.

She also starred in the ITV show Britain Sings Christmas in 2007, performing Mariah Carey’s classic All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Kelli is happily married to Triple 8 singer Iain James and the pair have twin sons that were born in 2012.

Away from her music and family life, Kelli also has a passion for renovating homes.  

Sharing updates on an Instagram account, KelliYoungBuilds, the star told her followers in 2022: ‘Hi! I’m Kelli Young. You may know me from 00’s pop band Liberty X, but you may not know that since leaving the band I’ve project managed / advised on a series of renovations and builds for myself and other people..

‘It’s all led up to this… our dream build in the country.

‘Myself, my husband (songwriter to the stars Iain James), our twin boys (and our dog) are embarking on the project of a lifetime.’

Jessica Taylor – Liberty X

Jessica, 46, has lived mostly a quiet family life alongside her gigging – after marrying cricketer Kevin Pietersen in 2007.

They have two children – son Dylan, born in 2010, and daughter Rosie, born in 2015.

Since Liberty X, she has appeared on Dancing on Ice in 2009, where she came third alongside partner Pavel Aubrecht.

You may have also seen her on shows such as Hole In The Wall, The Chase and The Weakest Link.

After being formed on Popstars in 2001, Liberty X released their debut single Thinking It Over, which reached number five in the UK charts.

But it was their third single Just A Little that turned the group into global stars as it reached number one in the UK and became the ninth best-selling single of 2002.

The band split in 2007 after their final album failed to make an impact, though they did reunite as part of ITV show The Big Reunion in 2013. 

Tony Lundon – Liberty X

Tony, 47, has been hugely successful since the band split.

The Irish star now works as a film and television producer-director and runs his own production company called The Cell Productions.

He helped celebrities such as Ed Sheeran and Jamie Laing establish their YouTube channels. 

Before that he also presented a quiz series called TOAST in Ireland before moving to New York in 2010 to study film. 

He has also been a presenter with RTÉ in Ireland, and a lead dancer with Lord of the Dance.

Liberty X said in a statement on Thursday: ‘It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since Popstars changed all of our lives. We are thrilled to be heading out on tour with Hear’Say to celebrate where it all began. 

‘It feels like the perfect way to mark such an incredible milestone, bringing the music, the memories and all the energy back to the stage. 

‘Most of all, we can’t wait to celebrate with all of you. Whether you’ve been with us since day one or you’re discovering these songs all over again, we can’t wait to sing, dance and make some brand new memories together. See you on tour!’

Kevin Simm – Liberty X

Back in 2023 Kevin revealed how he fell on hard times and left ‘desperate’ following the chart-topping band’s split.

The singer, now 46, found fame in the group alongside the likes of Michelle on ITV’s Popstars in 2001 and went to score ten UK Top 20 singles.

But after the band went their separate ways in 2007 Kevin’s solo career tanked and the self-confessed ‘grafter’ soon found himself forced to work as a fencer, electrician and wedding photographer  in order to feed his young family.

Kevin, who shares sons Charlie, 15, and Oliver, 13, with wife Laura, told The Sun: ‘When Liberty X finished I had no idea what to do. I didn’t know how to get gigs. It was strange coming out of a big pop group and having to start again.’ 

He also explained how he would continue to sing in pubs and clubs at weekends where he would be paid £150 a gig, a million miles from the big bucks of Liberty X.

Telling the publication: ‘It was embarrassing and a bit demeaning going around saying I’m available for bookings but I had to suck it up and swallow my pride.

‘When you’re putting flyers through pub doors, you’re kind of kneecapping yourself as far as bargaining power because they know how desperate you are. It was a strange time’.

After the band briefly reunited for a tour in 2013 Kevin applied for BBC’s The Voice, winning the series in 2016.

Kevin explained to the Daily Mail at the time how the competition wasn’t just about his singing career, but about doing something to make his two sons, Charlie and Oliver, proud of him.

Then in 2018 Kevin was contacted by Wet Wet Wet and was asked to replace their lead singer Marti Pellow after his departure. 

The group released their first album with their new singer 2021 entitled The Journey which reached number 29 in the UK charts. 

Darius Campbell

Scottish Darius also appeared on their series of Popstars but didn’t make it through the audition process.

His audition remains memorable however as he performed a theatrical rendition of Britney Spears’ hit Baby One More Time.

The judges gave him a no – deciding he did not fit the mould for the winning band Hear’Say.

He then returned the following year to audition for Pop Idol, where he finished in third place which launched his music and West End career.

Darius sadly died in August 2022 at the age of 41. He died from inhaling anaesthetic drug ethyl chloride in a tragic incident that has since been ruled an accident.

Autopsy documents listed ‘toxic effects of chloroethane’ as well as ‘suffocation’ as having contributed to his death, the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed.

The death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner. 

The star passed away exactly 20 years after he topped the charts with his critically-acclaimed single Colourblind following Pop Idol.