‘That upset me so much!’ Kéllé Bryan claims she became estranged from her Eternal bandmates after being told she was “chosen solely for her looks”.
She’s better known these days as a celebrity panelist on the ITV show Loose Women, but those with longer memories will recognize Kéllé Bryan as a permanent member of ’90s girl group Eternal.
Accompanied by Louise Redknapp, née Nurding, and sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, the singer enjoyed sustained mainstream commercial success throughout the decade until the band’s final split in 2000.
But mother-of-two Bryan, 47, claims she feels alienated from her bandmates after being told she was chosen for the group solely because of her looks and not her ability to carry a tune.
Speaking to Thursday’s Loose Women, she explained, “I was so offended by that, it’s not bad to be attractive but to me it’s annoying because I was like, ‘I’m for more than this.'”
‘I like to sing. I don’t think I’m beautiful. It’s just that people back then said, “You were chosen because you’re pretty.”
Upset: Kéllé Bryan claims she felt alienated from her Eternal bandmates after being told she was chosen for the group solely because of her looks and not her ability to carry a tune
Old times: (LR) Eternal stars Louise Redknapp née Nurding, Easther Bennett, Kéllé Bryan and Vernie Bennett in 1994
Everyone’s Changing: Originally a four-piece, the band quickly became a trio after Louise left in 1995 to pursue a solo career
Originally a four-piece, the band quickly became a trio after Louise pursued a solo career in 1995 before becoming one of the UK’s most successful girl groups with three Top Ten albums.
Kéllé was eventually fired from the band in 1998 for claiming that she ostracized herself from Easther and Vernie, and the group’s fourth album, released the following year, limped to a disappointing number 87 in the UK Singles Chart.
The band, minus Louise, later reformed for the TV show The Big Reunion in 2014, in which Kéllé claimed her firing was done by fax.
She explained: “It was sent to a lot of people, so not just me, it was sent to a lot of people in the industry. And so I got calls from a lot of people, “I heard you quit.”
“I was hurt because I didn’t understand, there was no closure. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. From the outside it just seemed “Kelle has problems” and “Let’s go on with it ourselves”.
“If only I’d had the guts to walk into one of their rooms and say, ‘Oi, what’s your problem with me?’ … we would have gone ahead and sold God knows how many more records.
“I wasn’t strong enough, I didn’t have the courage. I was too scared.’
Let’s talk: The former singer opened up about her time in the popular band during Thursday’s edition of Loose Women
Opening: “I like to sing. I don’t think I’m beautiful. It was just people at the time saying, “You were chosen because you’re pretty,” she recalled
The singer had a successful acting career with roles on police drama The Bill and the long-running teen soap opera Hollyoaks, where she played series regular Martine Deveraux until 2022.
Confirming her departure from the show last May, she told the Loose Women panel, “It’s a secret I’ve kept to myself for so long, so it feels really weird to say it out loud.”
“Tonight on Hollyoaks will be my very last scene. I’m leaving the show after playing the same character for four years. I’m gone!
“Fans will be able to see what’s happening with Martine and all the dynamics between me and Richard Blackwood who plays my husband.
“I used to wear a little bit inside just to have this feeling of discomfort. So taking that out, changing your hair…she’s been a part of me for so long, it’s going to be weird to put her down.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV.