A lot of people have been quite surprised with the stuff that I'm doing on my own, which shocks me because I've always known what I wanted to do. But people have only seen me with the Spice Girls, so I suppose it's not that surprising.

A lot of the time, the British press make me ashamed and embarrassed to be British. They give others the impression that the British are selfish, envious and bitter people, which is simply not true in my opinion. I think that British people in general are really nice and friendly.

A musical would be fantastic. The soundtrack would be great and I'd like to do acting.

All I want is for people to listen to it with unbiased ears, and decide for themselves. I just don't want them to be dictated to by the media, or have preconceptions about it. If you like it, great. If you don't, fair enough.

Being in the Spice Girls was an insane experience.

Everybody in life is a chameleon.

I don't think I'm a great singer myself. I'm all right. I've worked with different writers, different producers... I've just been blessed with the caliber of people I've been able to work with.

I don't think the Spice Girls are celebrated as much as they should be. We championed British pop worldwide. We toured everywhere to sell-out crowds and I think there should have been a reflection of that at February's Brit's anniversary.

I don't want to be daft and say I had some spiritual awakening or something, but I really did come of age in Los Angeles, where we recorded the album. I had my own little house and my own little circle and I really got to feel how the city ticks.

I don't want to hurt anybody or be offensive. But I don't want to not be me.

I feel there should have been some recognition of the Spice Girls at this year's 25th anniversary. We flew the flag for Britain around the globe in the 1990s and we achieved a hell of a lot.

I just feel, in life, I'm searching for something I can rely on, something that's constant and something that's going to guide me through. And I felt that the Northern Star is a very beautiful image of that.

I know I'm not a great singer. But I love to sing and I like to use my voice in different ways.

I love being onstage and I love to perform. To be honest with you, I'm more comfortable performing than I am in an everyday situation, which I can't quite explain.

I recognise a lot of myself in these kids who enter shows like Pop Idol. It's very hard to get into the music industry and you have to take every opportunity that you can. Something like Pop Idol is a great opportunity but unfortunately, I think it's tainted by the people that make these shows.

I swear in real life-probably too much-though I don't swear in front of my gran. We adapt to every situation.

I wouldn't say I worked with these people because I was looking for a particular vocal sound. I worked with them because I loved what they had done before-and because they really wanted to work with me.

It's really hard to accept the knowledge that I am a role model. It was something we had to think about, and we don't take it lightly. Young people do listen to us and are influenced by us. But then again, I don't want to compromise who I am, because that's a girl-power message.

My new album enjoyed some of the best reviews I've ever had and the live reviews have been great too. So I'm very happy,. I think that it's got my strongest collection of songs. Northern Star, my first record, was a very special album to me but I just think that this one is stronger.

Putting out my album on my own label has been a great experience for me. It's been very inspiring. It's like a new start for me and having all this creative freedom is so liberating and exciting.

The British press have written some nasty and spiteful things about the way I look which used to affect me quite badly when it was new to me but luckily, I've learned to ignore the comments. why do they even care about how I look?

The funny thing about making this record and being away from the girls and on my own in LA is that it allowed me to reflect on how much we've accomplished.

The success of this album is very much in question. Who knows where it's going to go? My being a Spice Girl is no guarantee of anything, although I hope it'll benefit the sales.

This is me. Take it or leave it.

We were in the same band, but we're two completely different people. People have asked me to make comparisons with our albums, and I can't, because there's no comparison. Her album's okay. I don't think she's the best singer on Earth, but she's okay.