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Young had been turned into chart- topping household names on Pop Idol came the news that TV producers were seeking wannabes to take part in a new show called Popstars: The Rivals. Inspired by the chart battle between Hear’Say and Liberty X, producers decided that, instead of creating just one shiny pop band, they would form a boyband and a girlband, and then pitch them against each other in a race for the Christmas number one. And this time round, it would be the record-buying public who would ultimately choose who made it into the band’s final line-up. Before that could happen, a set of judges would have to whittle down the thousands of hopefuls to just twenty – ten boys and ten girls. And producers had lined up some of the top names in the industry to choose who made it through.
    One of the illustrious judges was the legendary pop producer Pete Waterman, who, with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, had hijacked the charts in the late eighties with hundreds of Hi-NRG pop gems such as ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’. Waterman’s star waned somewhat in the nineties, so when Simon Cowell asked him to join the judging panel of TV talent show Pop Idol in 2001 it gave him a fresh focus for his career. It was thanks to his success on that show that the Popstars: The Rivals judging role followed.
    The second judge was Geri Halliwell, one-fifth of the mighty girl group the Spice Girls. Although some commentators suggested she might not have had the best of voices, she was considered the driving force behind the colourful girl quintet that became not just a chart-topping global sensation but a money-making brand. Geri’s role as a judge was inspiring to Cheryl. Like the Geordie wannabe, Geri had been determined from an early age to become a star and spent years auditioning for all sorts of media work. She tried out as a TV presenter on The Big Breakfast ; she auditioned for films such as Tank Girl ; posed topless; and had even flown out to Turkey to appear as a hostess on game show Let’s Make a Deal. But it was when she answered an audition in The Stage seeking girls to join a band that her life was totally transformed, and the Spice Girls legend ‘Ginger Spice’ was born.
    Band manager Louis Walsh completed the line-up of judges. Although he was relatively unknown in the UK at this point, he was the man behind such massive chart stars as Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Samantha Mumba and Westlife. He’d also previously appeared as a judge on the Irish version of Popstars in which heformed a boy-girl combo called Six. It was also on this series of Popstars that Louis Walsh first stumbled across a young Nadine Coyle, who would later become one of Girls Aloud. With her stunning looks and powerful vocals, she had actually made the final line-up of the band. However, when it was uncovered that she was actually sixteen years old and not the required eighteen, she was swiftly replaced by Sarah Keating.
    So the new series of Popstars: The Rivals promised plenty. Well-known judges, star talent and a public vote. Cheryl knew that this was what she had been waiting for. And she was delighted when her application for the show was accepted and she was asked to attend a callback in Glasgow. For the first time in a while, Cheryl felt that her dreams might just come true after all.

_____ Chapter 6
BOOT CAMP
    Cheryl Tweedy was nervous, more nervous than she had been for a long time. As she waited to meet the judges, dressed in a floral top and jeans, she quaked in anticipation. This is what she’d been dreaming about all these years and now for the first time pop stardom was almost in her grasp. Only three people stood in her way – Pete, Louis and Geri.
    Cheryl’s fear of rejection was overwhelming. At times, she felt that she might be physically sick from nerves, while at other times, she simply felt like turning on her heel and heading back home where she wouldn’t be crushed