Melanie Blatt reveals that participating in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special dismantled the self-esteem she spent a lifetime building, leaving her feeling deeply vulnerable.
Challenging Experience on Strictly
The All Saints singer, aged 50, competed in last year’s pre-recorded festive edition alongside five other celebrities. Paired with professional dancer Kai Widdrington, Blatt found the two-hour rehearsal process overwhelming. The special, broadcast on Christmas Day, saw Scarlett Moffatt and Vito Coppola claim victory.
“I felt extremely vulnerable,” Blatt states. “It’s taken me 50 years to feel as good as I’ve ever felt about myself, and Strictly stripped it away from me. Nothing dodgy went on—they’re on their best behaviour—but I just didn’t feel comfortable in a dress.”
All Saints Rise and Internal Conflicts
Producers approached Blatt three years after All Saints’ third breakup. The band, co-founded by Blatt in 1993 with Shaznay Lewis and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton, achieved fame with hits like ‘I Know Where It’s At’ reaching number four in 1997, followed by chart-toppers ‘Never Ever,’ ‘Under the Bridge,’ and ‘Pure Shores.’
Influenced by hip-hop and R&B icons, Blatt felt embarrassed by the group’s pop success. “I wanted to work with Timbaland and Missy Elliott,” she recalls. “If it was left to me, I’d be a carbon copy of those artists. I didn’t want to release Pure Shores—I was always making a fuss, I was always upset—and I was wrong. It became our biggest song.”
She now accepts the band’s music more comfortably after years of shame about its pop appeal.
Pregnancy and Band Pressures
Blatt and Nicole Appleton discovered their pregnancies together during a hotel stay in Canada. “Nic and I took our pregnancy tests together in a hotel room in Canada,” Blatt shares. “It was the best night ever… then the story got out and spread like wildfire. There was talk of how we could ruin the band. We were letting the other girls down.”
Blatt welcomed daughter Lilyella, now 27, on November 20, 1998, with Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender after a brief relationship. The unplanned pregnancy proved the right choice for her, though Appleton opted for an abortion—a topic they never discussed due to poor communication.
Band Dynamics and Multiple Reunions
All Saints disbanded in 2001, reformed in 2006 with Parlophone for album Studio 1, split again around 2008, reunited for Red Flag in 2016, and made a final comeback in 2017 with Testament and a tour before an indefinite hiatus in 2022.
“It was always a difficult relationship between the four of us,” Blatt explains. “For a start, you’ve got two sisters. Nic and I were best friends when we were 11, then Shaz and I were best friends… we could never get it right.” Despite tensions, she values their authenticity: “It’s such a shame; I think if we’d got it right, we’d have been laughing. At the same time, we didn’t fake it.”
Future Goals Beyond Music
Blatt seeks fulfillment outside music. “My dream is to do a cookery book or have my own cookery programme,” she says. “Something like ‘Cheeses of the World’ where I travel to Africa and Asia and talk to people about cheese. I’m putting it out there, because I’m going to make it happen.”
Her core motivation remains simple: “I’ve got to 50 and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but the main thing I want from life is peace and happiness.”
