Showbiz

Mel B admits: 'Geri and I were bitter rivals during our heyday'

Updated 14:30pm on 14 Feb 2008

Melanie Brown has dismissed recent rumours of a rift between the Spice Girls - but admits that during the band's heyday, she and Geri Halliwell were bitter rivals.

In a new interview, Mel B reveals how she regularly disparaged Ginger Spice's dancing ability as the group were rising to stardom in the 1990s.

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Softer side: Mel B, who has admitted to 'bitchy' behaviour in the Spice Girls heyday, enjoyed a tender moment with daughter Angel Iris in New Jersey yesterday

The Dancing With The Stars runner-up says she still critiques Geri's moves, but now without venom.

She told Grazia magazine: "I tell her when she gets it wrong. In the old days I may have done it in a bitchy way, but it's much more sisterly now. I want her to look fantastic and get it right."

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United front: The Spice Girls, on stage in Boston earlier this month, get on 'better than ever,' insists Mel B

She continued: "Everybody knows that Geri and I have had our problems in the past because at one stage we were inseparable and that can never last, but having time apart and then coming together has been incredibly healing. We have a real bond."

Mel B denies claims infighting lead the group cutting short their tour, saying: "The stories suggesting the end of the tour was anything to do with rows are complete nonsense! We get on better than ever, the girls are my best friends."

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Salary slashed: The Spice Girls, pictured at Roberto Cavalli's fashion show in Milan earlier this year, are no longer expected to receive their �20million paycheck

The world tour was expected to earn more the group more than �20 million each in revenue and marketing, but Mel B has thrown doubt on how lucrative it has actually been.

"In actual fact it has cost almost �19 million and we have no idea how much we'll recoup."

The five-strong group had hoped to make an estimated �100 million from their reunion tour and a raft of marketing deals, but that profit forecast will be slashed when their live shows come to an abrupt end this month.

Tour dates for concerts in Australia, China, South Africa and South America were cancelled with the girl group citing family commitments for the decision.