APRIL 2002

330.04.02 GERI AND MEL B MORE THAN JUST FRIENDS? From The Mirror

It's the explosive documentary Mel B famously tried to ban. And now we can reveal why. For just when we thought there was no more mud to sling between the warring couple, Jimmy Gulzar has lifted the lid on what he calls the, er, not-so-platonic relationship between his former wife and one-time Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell.

In the BBC Choice programme Mel B's ex makes the extraordinary claim that rather than being enemies, Scary Spice and bandmate Geri were just a bit too close for comfort.

Careful not to explicitly spell out the exact nature of their relationship Jimmy will tell viewers that the pair were as intimate as he was with Mel.

He said: "Melanie and Geri had a relationship with each other which goes deeper than a lot of people think.

"After Geri left the group she was just slagging her off. She did the same thing with me. Because of that you can see there is a deeper thing going on there between Geri and Melanie than only just being members of the same group.

He goes on: "I don't think that if any other member of the group left Melanie would have been so negative towards them. But Melanie was just hurt that Geri left the group because they were really, really close."

The allegations are fuelled by a joke Mel C made in an old interview with Jamie Theakston in which 
Mel B and Geri are fooling around and hitting each other.

Mel C says: "It's like when you're in school and you hit someone you fancy. Really, you two fancy eachother." Laughing Mel B says: "Yeah, I really do."

Dutch-born Jimmy, 34, who is the father of Mel's four-year-old daughter Phoenix-Chisplit from Mel in December after a marriage which lasted just 16 months.

Their relationship has been acrimonious ever since. In the show he reveals that it was Mel who wanted to walk out on the girlband first, but was beaten to it by Geri.

"There was a thing between Melanie and Geri that the first to leave the group would be the most successful one," he claims.

"Melanie told me that she was already planning her solo career. I already planning her solo career. I think that's the reason Melanie got so angry with Geri because she got the balls to leave before Mel could."

Sporty Spice will also no doubt be left reeling after the show is aired. Jimmy tells how the other bandmembers secretly bitched about her behind her back.

"The person I most felt sorry for was Mel C because the others talk behind her back," he said. "They always make jokes about her and I think that is dirty."
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17.04.02 GERI'S FASHION FRENZY AT BRITANNIA AWARDS The Mirror

Keep it under your hat - but it seems fame has finally gone to Geri Halliwell's head.
She took to the stage in Beverly Hills in this natty bowler, topping off bottom-skimming hotpants.
29-year-old Geri is far from the first star to join the bowler brigade. 
It has been a favourite of comics from Laurel and Hardy to Marty Feldman and Benny Hill, alias Ernie the fastest milkman in the West back in 1971. 
Patrick McNee wore one to dapper effect in The Avengers and Malcolm McDowell to a menacing one in Clockwork Orange. 
Ex-Spice Girl Geri's was more Charlie Chaplin slapstick style at the 11th Annual Britannia Awards - even dragging Gandhi actor Ben Kingsley on stage so she could perch on his lap. 
But when Charlie put on his bowler for the 1921 classic The Kid, it was a silent performance. You can't quite see extrovert Geri copying that . 

17.04.02 THE SPICE GIRLS WILL BE BACK

Rumours have been flying around that the Spice Girls are set for a comeback to mark their tenth anniversary. 
Ex-manager Simon Fuller who was sacked in 1997 - but has since settled his differences with them - feels there is still life in Spice.
He wants to get them together for a one-off gig in 2004. They haven't worked together for a year.
He also plans a greatest hits album of their nine No1s.
Simon says: "To me, the Spice Girls will always feel unfinished. There was no specific reason why it all went wrong and no malice on my part."
The big question is: Is Simon planning on asking Geri to perform with the other 4 Spice Girls too? . 

04.04.02 GERI'S BOOK DEAL MAKES HER HALLI-WEALTHY From The Mirror

GERI HALLIWELL has signed a £500,000 deal to write a second autobiography, it was revealed last night.
The 29-year-old singer's latest 40,000-word tome will concentrate on the turbulent times since her shock departure from the Spice Girls. And it is expected to contain 125 new pictures which have never been seen by fans.
The contract comes only three years after her first volume, If Only, which covered her childhood and time with the Spice Girls and was one of the best sellers of 2000.
But publishing bosses believe the most recent chapter of Geri's career will be another massive hit.
The book is also expected to reveal the truth about her sham romances with Chris Evans and Robbie Williams.
Both were dismissed as publicity stunts to promote her career after the Spice Girls.
It will also feature details of the burglary which forced her to leave her flat in West London after intruders daubed hate slogans across her walls.
A friend said: "As always, it will be honest and from the heart."
Geri is currently working on the book while on a break in Los Angeles. She has been staying with friend George Michael and his Texan boyfriend Kenny Goss at their mansion in Beverly Hills.
The insider said: "Geri has been having a fantastic time.
"As you would imagine, George and Kenny have been fantastic hosts and have been introducing her to all their friends in LA.". 

04.04.02 GERI'S LIFE PART II From ITV

Popstar Geri Halliwell has signed a £500,000 deal to write a second autobiography that will look at the years since her departure from the Spice Girls.According to a newspaper, it is also expected to reveal the truth behind her "sham" romances with broadcaster Chris Evans and singer Robbie Williams. Both relationships were dismissed as publicity stunts to promote her records.
At the moment Geri is out in Los Angeles working on the book. She is staying with old pal George Michael and his boyfriend Kenny Goss at their mansion in Beverley Hills.
One insider told the newspaper: "Geri has been having a fantastic time as you would imagine. George and Kenny have been fantastic hosts and have been introducing her to all their friends in LA."
The contract for the latest instalment of the 29-year-old's life story since she left the all-girl band in 1998, comes just three years after the first volume If Only was released.
The book - one of the best sellers of 2000 in Britain - described the petite star's childhood and time with the Spice Girls