I thought boob job would ‘fix’ body issues but it made me so ill I feared I would die, says S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt
CATAPULTED to fame with S Club 7 in the late Nineties, Hannah Spearritt was not prepared for the pressures of pop fame.
But when she and her female bandmates found themselves splashed all over lads’ mags, the petite singer was soon left comparing herself to the others.
Being constantly photographed next to Rachel Stevens, Tina Barrett and Jo O’Meara left Hannah feeling she needed to “fix” herself.
In an exclusive interview, she reveals: “We were thrown into all these photoshoots which I never knew would be part of the deal, FHM and all those lads’ mags.
“And I had Rachel, Tina and Jo with their curves. I love them all to bits but I was flat as a pancake.
“It was during this time that things started to grow in my head about how I looked.
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“It took me a while to pluck up the courage to get my boobs done, and it wasn’t until my early thirties that I went in for surgery.
“I’d come out of a long-term relationship and thought, ‘This is going to fix me’, which was just ridiculous.”
The decision turned out to be one of the worst of Hannah’s life.
Her 2013 surgery led to three years of hell and left her with depression and severe anxiety.
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She became so ill that at one point she thought she was going to die.
Hannah, now 41, had her implants removed in 2016 and is this month set to warn other women of their dangers in ITVBe documentary Hannah Spearritt: Me & Breast Implants.
She says of the TV project: “It’s been a really big thing for me to do. I’ve always been quite a private person, but I’m really glad that I’ve done it.
'LIKE I WAS POISONED'
“If I can help just one person with the documentary, it will all be worth it.
“There was a time when I thought I was going mad because I was constantly being misdiagnosed.”
Hannah, who lives in Twickenham, South West London, with her long-term partner, nutritionist Adam Thomas, 42, and their daughters Taya, three and two-year-old Tora, started to get symptoms just six months after undergoing surgery at a top Harley Street clinic.
She says of her implants: “I got the most expensive ones. They were the newest on the market and cost me about £7,000.
“But what I didn’t realise was the silicone is not pure silicone, so you never know what extra stuff they are putting into them.
“It was like my body was being slowly poisoned.
“It was about six months after I’d got them done that I started feeling really tired.
“I’d go to the gym and have to come back and have a nap.
“Then my hair started to fall out. I was suffering with severe anxiety and was diagnosed with systemic candida, which is a fungal overgrowth — then the depression hit.
It took a while to pluck up the courage to get my boobs done. I’d come out of a relationship and thought, ‘This will fix me’.
“I felt like I was dying towards the end. But I guess I also knew that I had the implants in, so I did have hope that my body would start healing itself when I got them out — which was the case.
“It was actually my partner Adam who put two and two together.
“He was convinced it was my implants but I really didn’t want it to be them because I’d spent so many years thinking about it and had finally plucked up the courage to do it.”
Pumped full of medication, Hannah felt able to take on an S Club reunion tour in 2015.
Yet the hectic schedule of gigs soon left her exhausted.
She says of the meds: “It gave me this false energy. It was good for a while but it was only masking it.
“At the time I was just so exhausted with being exhausted that I was happy to take it, but I was making myself so ill.
“Once I stopped taking the medication I completely crashed. It was then that I knew it was time to take out the implants.”
After having “ex-plant” surgery to remove them Hannah felt immediate relief.
She says: “When I woke up following the ex-plant it was like my body took its first breath and was like, ‘Thank you so much’.
“But the illness is not recognised by the World Health Organisation, so it is difficult for women to get the help and the care they need.
“So many women are misdiagnosed because there are an array of symptoms, that come under so many different things.”
Several medical experts have recognised “breast implant illness” as a potential side-effect of silicone implantation — but there is limited research into the issue.
Hannah kept her implants and sent them to be tested, the results of which will be revealed during her documentary.
She adds: “The documentary was so interesting for me to do and I’m really hoping it makes a difference. The industry needs changing.
“There’s so much work that needs to be done, no one really knows about it.
“So many women come to me and say, ‘But mine have got this 15-year guarantee’ but they haven’t been inside a human for that long.
"What people have to realise is that when you get implants you are basically a guinea pig, because you don’t know how your body is going to react.”
Hannah was just 17 when she shot to fame with S Club 7 alongside Rachel and Tina, Jo, Bradley McIntosh, Jon Lee and Paul Cattermole.
But while Hannah loved the performing side of being in the band — who achieved charts success with hits such as Reach and Don’t Stop Movin’ — she struggled with the attention that came with the job.
She says: “Towards the end of S Club 7 the fame side of it was just too much. It was so intense.
“I never got into it for that, although I know that it comes with it.
“At the time I didn’t realise but now, in hindsight, I did not look internally because everything was quite external when we were in S Club.
"It was all about how you looked, you’re getting your make-up done all the time and you’re in front of the camera, you’ve got other girls in the band, who people are comparing you to.”
'Finally accepted who I am'
Feeling happy with her body has been a long process for Hannah, who believes that her implants “didn’t even look that great”.
She says: “I went to a 32B, which filled my bra properly. I didn’t want to go too big — but of course hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Now Hannah is fully confident in herself and her body.
She says of her breasts: “I’m happy with them now. My body has changed since I had my two children and they feel bigger than they were before the implants.
"I’ve finally accepted who I am, it is something that comes with age.
";I’m 41 now and I feel good. But it’s also very normal to not feel OK or happy with yourself.
"And for many years that was the case with me.”
Hannah, who has gone on to star in TV shows such as EastEnders, Casualty and sci-fi drama Primeval, loves being a mum to her two young daughters and is in the process of opening a cafe with partner Adam close to their London home.
She says: “I’m trying to create a work-life balance, because we both just love being at home with the kids.
"They have no idea about my previous work.
“We put Primeval on the TV the other month to show Taya — she’s nearly four — but she wasn’t interested and turned it off.
"I’ve also played them a few of S Club 7’s songs but they prefer other music, which made me smile.
“We’re launching our new cafe next month. It’s about getting back to nature, and the kids have been helping us plant herbs, which they love to do.
"So that’s what we’re working on at the moment. I want to enjoy this time with them.
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“I’d never say never to doing more acting roles but right now it’s all about the kids and our cafe.”
- Hannah Spearritt: Me & Breast Implants will be shown on ITVBe on Thursday, October 13, at 9pm.
