Frankie Bridge

Francesca Bridge ( Sandford, born 14 January 1989) is an English singer, formerly a member of S Club Juniors and a member of girl group The Saturdays. She is signed to Fascination and Polydor labels. Bridge began her career when she auditioned for Simon Fuller's reality television competition ''S Club Search'' in 2001, broadcast on CBBC. She successfully auditioned and won a place in the pop group S Club Juniors. Bridge and the rest of the group then starred in their own reality TV show '' S Club Junior: The Story''. Together with the band, Bridge successfully released seven singles and two albums. Whilst in the group, she made an appearance in S Club 7's TV show ''Viva S Club''. The group then began featuring in their own children's musical television programme ''I Dream''. Bridge played a main role in the show and went onto release the duet single " Dreaming" along with fellow S Club 8 member Calvin Goldspink.

In 2007, Bridge went on to successfully audition for the girlband The Saturdays. The group were immediately signed to Polydor and Fascination Records and later gained a record deal with Geffen Records after having huge success in the United Kingdom. Bridge and the rest of the group later signed a deal with Island Def Jam and Mercury worth US$1.5 million to distribute their music in the US, which led to her first UK number-one single " What About Us". Throughout Bridge's time in the music industry, she has achieved 19 UK top-ten singles and six UK top-ten albums. In late 2017, Bridge decided to pursue a solo career in music, signing a record deal with both Polydor and Fascination Records, the labels Bridge has been signed to since she was 11 years old. Her debut solo album was expected to be released in 2019, however it was shelved so Bridge could focus on motherhood. Bridge's 16 years in the music industry has led her to sell an estimated 10 million records worldwide.

Bridge gained higher prominence as a style icon in the UK, and her signature style short hair started a trend around the UK. She has had a successful career in television as well as performing, she has been a part of two reality television series of her own: '' The Saturdays: 24/7'' and ''Chasing the Saturdays''. She was also involved in '' Ghosthunting With... The Saturdays'' in 2010. In 2014, Bridge took part in the twelfth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' where she was the runner-up of the series, and in 2017 she began presenting ''Cannonball''. She has been married to footballer Wayne Bridge since 2014, and together, the couple have two sons. As of 2021, Bridge's net worth stands at £11 million, the highest of all the members of The Saturdays. In November 2021, Bridge was a contestant on the twenty-first series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished in third place.

Early life

Bridge was born in Upminster, Essex, on 14 January 1989. According to Bridge, her parents are very "sporty" and she would hate Sundays due to them making her do sport, therefore Bridge began taking dance lessons from the age of three at her local Community centre. Bridge auditioned for Colins Performing Arts, a drama school in Romford, and sang a song from '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', which she practised daily with the school choir. She was successful in receiving a place at the school. Bridge was inspired to audition for the school after seeing future bandmate, Rochelle Humes perform at the opening evening. Bridge began auditioning for roles in television shows and adverts when she was just nine years old, and although she did well and often making the final, she didn't receive any parts she auditioned for and began questioning whether or not she was good enough, and therefore began taking an extra two private acting lessons a week. She has a sister.

In her early teens she won a contest for her performance of "Macavity" from the musical, '' Cats'' and her mother taught her the song, choreographed the routine and made her outfit. In The Saturday's book '' The Saturdays: Our Story'', Bridge revealed she was very poor at Mathematics in school and her school report revealed she was well behaved as a child and would only receive detention for forgetting homework.

Bridge previously worked in a bar in her local town during the week and had a Saturday job as a sales assistant at an AllSaints concession in House of Fraser, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex. From a young age Bridge suffered from severe depression. Bridge studied dance in her after-school hours. and enrolled at a stage school near Romford to study musical arts. Her grandmother would call her 'Sunshine and Showers' because of her very upbeat personality when she is happy and very down personality when she is sad. Following the death of her grandmother, Bridge got the words tattooed onto the bottom of her neck.

Career

2001–05: Beginnings and S Club 8

S Club Juniors were formed in 2001 through a reality television show, ''S Club Search''. The auditions were aired on children's television channel, CBBC. The concept of the show was to find a spin-off S Club 7. The show documents the auditions and formation of the group, with S Club 7 as the judges of the show. The winning individuals of the show would be guaranteed a place in the spin-off group. Although, the group were originally formed to only perform and support S Club 7 at Wembley Arena date of their '' Carnival Tour'', S Club Juniors' appearance was considered a success and consequently 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors, decided they should perform as the support act at all of the venues on the tour. The group made their debut television appearance as a group on '' Children in Need'' in November 2001. By the time the group had finished touring with S Club 7, they had earned a substantial following and with the encouragement of 19, Polydor Records signed the group. They released their first single " One Step Closer" in April 2002, the group promoted the single by featuring in a four episode television special ''S Club Junior: The Story'', aired on BBC
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