Hi, Jo! How are you feeling?
'Not too great. I've got a condition that runs through my family - well, the women, anyway. There's a disintegrated disc in my spine and it limits me from doing stuff that I want to do - especially being in a pop band! It doesn't really help when you can't dance!'

Can you walk around?
'Only for a certain amount of time. I can't sit in a car, or walk or stand, for long periods. I can't be in one position for too long.'

There have been rumours you're actually leaving the group...
'No, that's not true at all. There are so many stories in the papers that I'm pregnant and I'm refusing to perform with the band 'cos of the baby's health. I'm not pregnant - I'm just fat! I've just put on a bit of pud, that's all. I don't dance and I get bored sitting at home doing nothing, so I eat more.'

When will you be returning to work?
'I'm on six weeks' leave, so I'm just chilling out and trying to get better until then.'

We hear you're keeping yourself busy with a new puppy...
'Yeah, she's only eight weeks old. She's a little Labrador and she looks like a little Andrex pup! She's called Pippa - Pippa the nipper, 'cos she bites all the time!'

And we heard you passed your driving test - congratulations!
'Thanks! I did it at last! I bought myself a little car before my driving test to give me a kick up the bum, to help pass my test. I got a convertible Peugeot 206cc. I don't go far, though - I couldn't do a motorway. I just use it to get from A to B, get the dog food, go round my mum's and go to bingo - that's my limit at the moment.'

The group have had to re-record the vocals on 'Alive' for live performances, with Rachel as lead singer - are you gutted?
'I'm not gutted about that, 'cos Rachel has only re-recorded it for TV, so it's going to be me on the album and me in the video. I'm still around - you can't get rid of me that easily!'

Is 'Alive' a good representation of the new S Club album?
'Yes, it's kind of where the next album's going. The sound is quite dancey and different from anything we've done before - we like to change things round a lot. There aren't so many poppy, poppy tracks like 'Reach' or 'Bring it All Back' - it's a bit more grown-up. I suppose you get older and you move forward, don't you?'

Tell us about the movie, Seeing Double...
'Well, we finished it about three weeks ago and it was really good. It's really different from the TV show and the storyline is a bit like (1985 kids' adventure flick) The Goonies. We're on a mission - we've been cloned by an evil professor and we've got to sort it out. There are lots of songs in the film, too, but no dance routines for me!'

How do you rate your acting? Is it something you'd like to do after S Club?
'No! God, no! You've only got to watch it to see that! I'm not the best. I've never taken acting seriously. 'cos I'd never acted before S Club and I didn't even know it was part of the plan when I joined the group. It was all great fun, but I don't see myself going into movies... apart from our one, obviously!'