Has Steps Claire Richards fallen off the diet wagon already?

Several months ago she hit the press with her DVD and diet plan and then looked slim and healthy and now she is looking curvier – has she or has she not ?  What do you think?

The 31-year-old stepped out in a figure-hugging, Victoria Beckham style, little black dress today at the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) awards ceremony in London.

However, the slimline shape of the outfit could not hide the re-emergence of a distinctly rounder-looking stomach compared to pictures released a few months ago to accompany her high-profile DVD launch.

‘I looked like a person in a fat suit’ Former Steps singer Claire Richards explians how she five dress sizes and rediscovered a new old shape!

Steps big in their time but now just a distant memory from a by gone time!  Claire Richards one of the blonde ones in the group has undergone an amazing transformation after slimming from a size 20 to a 10 in just nine months and says she’s determined to maintain her stunning new body.  I bet she is – that is some weaight lose.

The 31-year-old singer lost five stone in time for her wedding day last November and cannot imagine going back to her former 15 stone shape.  ‘I’m so much happier now and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I stay this way for good’ she told Mail Online.

Richards admits that it will be a struggle to keep the weight off but says she is determined to avoid falling into the trap of stars such as Natalie Cassidy who have slimmed down dramatically for a fitness DVD and then slowly put the weight back on.

Before and after and……

After again!

Claire says “I know that there will be a lot of pressure on me to stay slim and people will be paying close attention to my body to see if I’m managing to keep the weight off. But no-one could put more pressure on me than I’ll be putting on myself. I never want to be in the position I was before.”

Her new fitness DVD 5 Step Fat Attack is now outselling the likes of Spice Girl Mel B and Strictly Come Dancing, Richards says she credits its success to the fact that her story is ‘real’.

The big one!

Richards says that, although it was hard work shifting all of the weight, she felt like a million dollars walking down the aisle when she married her partner Reece Hill.   ‘It was an amazing feeling. There were a lot of people who hadn’t seen me for a while so it was nice to see the looks on the faces,’ she muses.  Now not only does she have a fantastic body, she also has far more energy to run around after her one-year-old son Charlie.

Pop star days: A slim Richards with bandmates Lisa Scott-Lee and Faye Tozer performing at London’s Party in the Park in 1999.  I wonder where they are now and what they look like?

Steps singer Claire Richards loses FIVE STONE whilst making a new fitness DVD

Claire startyed her celebrity life in Steps which was a very popluar band with some during its time and during her years in Steps, Claire Richards gained the attention of male fans with her big smile, powerful voice and slimline physique. But after her music career went downhill and she had a baby son Charlie, the 31-year-old singer soon started piling on the pounds, ballooning to 15 stone.  And we know how easy that can be, after all at the moment every other new piece is about losing weight,  who has gained weight and what we should all be doing to rectify the damage of the Christmas break. Without Steps’ energetic dance moves to help keep her in shape, Claire ended up gaining five stone, making her look unrecognisable from her old pop person.

Before – during Steps

After baby and before taking the plunge

After doing the do!

After the weight has gone: Claire Richards shows off her slimline physique after losing five stone

After being pictured in the media five dress sizes bigger in May this year, Claire decided to take control and regain her former figure.

The singer has teamed up with fitness expert Chris to share the secrets of her success. In her fitness DVD, entitled 5 Step Fat Attack, Claire shows off a combination of aerobics and toning exercises to help drop the pounds. As you would expect, Claire shows off her moves to a soundtrack of Steps’ greatest hits. Among the songs Claire works out to include Tragedy, After The Love Has Gone, Deeper Shade Of Blue and 5,6,7,8. She explained: ‘After leaving Steps, the regular dance routines and constantly being on the go came to an end and I started to gain weight. ‘I tried all sorts of methods to shape up including fad diets and failed gym memberships.That’s why I got together with my trainer Chris and created the 5 Step Fat Attack. ‘I’m fit and in shape and I want to share how I stepped my way back to fitness. ‘We’ve put together a great workout which enables you to lose weight and have fun. ‘Last year I looked in the mirror and at 15 stones I didn’t recognise myself, it was a far cry from my days in Steps when I was a size 10.

Dropping dress sizes: Claire looked more like her old self at the TV Choice Awards in September (L) after previously stunning fans with her portly physique at the Take That musical back in May (R)

‘Like most women, changes in my life led to me putting weight on and before I knew it I looked like another person in a fat suit, and I knew things had to change.’ Claire is currently working on her debut solo album, due for release in 2009, after a few years out of the spotlight. Claire sang many of the lead vocals in Steps during her five years with the pop group before they split on Boxing Day 2001. She went on to form a duo with Steps bandmate Ian ‘H’ Watkins, but they disbanded after 2003 after two years together. Claire married her first husband, Steps dancer Mark Webb in 2003, but they split in 2005. In May 2007, Claire gave birth to her first child Charlie and married his father Reece Hill last month. • Claire Richards: 5 Step Fat Attack goes on sale on December 26th.

Tummy-tastic: Claire flashes her toned stomach with her Steps bandmates (L-R) Lisa Scott Lee, Faye, Ian ‘H’ Watkins and Lee Latchford Evans at the 2000 Brit Awards