Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton claims she was ‘worked to the bone’ during her time in the band

Natasha Hamilton has claimed she was ‘worked to the bone’ during her time in Atomic Kitten.

The 41-year-old singer shot to fame alongside Kerry Katona and Liz McClarnon in 1999 as part of the group founded by OMD members Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw.

They had a string of hit singles, including Whole Again, but she now claims that “exhaustion” was the reason she and so many of their colleagues split up and she ultimately had to seek doctor intervention.

She said The mirror: ‘The hardest thing about Atomic Kitten? We were being worked to the bone, there was nothing left of us to give. That’s why so many bands broke up – the pressure was on.

‘Towards the end a doctor said, ‘She needs 12 months off, she’s mentally and physically exhausted. She has postpartum depression, she needs time to heal.’

Natasha Hamilton (left) rose to fame in Atomic Kitten alongside Kerry Katona and Liz McClarnon in 1999

But Natasha claimed she had to take or face legal action as she admitted ‘no one was concerned’ about mental health at the time.

She said: ‘The answer I got was, ‘She has to do this gig or she’ll be sued.’ Mental health was not a priority twenty years ago. Nobody cared.’

Natasha insisted she would not “relive those traumatic years” but that she has had a “great life anyway and is happy where she is now.”

Kerry left Atomic Kitten in 2001 and was replaced by Jenny Frost until they split in 2006, but the original line-up returned as part of ITV2’s The Big Reunion in 2012.

Kerry then left again and Jenny rejoined her bandmates in 2021 to release a reworked version of their signature song in support of England at UEFA Euro 2020.

The Liverpool-born star – who is married to Charles Gay and has five children from different relationships – has built a career outside the band in musical theater and television.

But she has now released her debut solo single Edge of Us after a few ‘failed attempts’, but admitted she had ‘never given up on her dream’ and was looking forward to doing something new after chasing the ‘nostalgia’ market for so long had tapped into.

The singer, 41, joined the girl group with Kerry and Liz in 1999 before the band split in 2003 after three number one singles (LR Liz, Kerry and Natasha performed in 2013).

In 2021, Natasha, Liz and Jenny reunited for the first time in 15 years to record a special version of Whole Again for Euro 2020

Natasha has now released her debut solo single Edge Of Us after refusing to ‘give up on her dream’

It comes after the singer revealed on Instagram last year that she had given birth to her fifth child, Kitty Iris, with her husband Charles Gay.

Last year, after the birth of her daughter, Natasha took to Instagram to share some snaps of daughter Kitty with her followers, revealing that the birth ‘surprised her’ as she arrived earlier than expected.

She said: ‘You were born over three weeks early, which gave mum quite a surprise when dad was working in London! But you stayed there until he came home and from the moment we saw you, we were completely in love with you.”

‘The first few weeks brought us some challenges and quite a few sleepless nights, but you are our little warrior and we are so happy that you are now blossoming and growing and pooping like a little go-getter!’

Natasha has sons Josh, Harry and Alfie, and an eight-year-old daughter Ella Rose from a previous relationship.

,