By Daily Mail Reporter


Her weight has yo-yoed over the years since leaving Steps.

But now that they are back together, Claire Richards' bandmates apparently worry she is so big, she will be unable to complete the reunion tour.

Lee Latchford-Evans, 37, who has been working as a personal trainer, is reportedly trying to whip the 34-year-old into shape so she can join the group's dance routines.

Fuller figured: Steps are reportedly worried member Claire Richards won't be able to join in on the dance routines for their reunion tour because she was put on weight

Claire burst onto the scene with the Tragedy band in 1997 as a tiny size eight, and often showed off her washboard stomach in string bikini tops.

She shot up to a size 20 at her heaviest after they disbanded in 2001, but planned to slim down in time for her wedding to Reece Hill, the father of her two children.

She slimmed down to fit a size 10 wedding dress in November 2008 and her plight was documented on BBC Three's Claire Richards: My Big Fat Wedding.

Claire released a fitness DVD, Five Step Fat Attack, that year, but again piled on the pounds and shot up to a size 16.

Mellow yellow: Claire was known to show off her washboard stomach in bikinis in Steps' heyday in the late '90s

Early last year she slimmed down again to a size 10, but by December had shot up again to a size 16, saying the size was too hard to maintain.

Steps begin their reunion tour in Belfast on April 2.

A source told the Daily Star: 'Claire has always had a problem with her weight and at the moment she’s heavier than she was last year.

'It’s a concern for the others because they want to put on the best show ever and that includes some big dance numbers.

'If Claire can’t keep up then it’s going to look a mess. We want it to to be all right on the night and we’ve got a battle on our hands.'

Fluctuating: Claire seen in 2008 - when she put out a fitness dvd - before and after slimming down from a size 20 to a size 10

Claire told Closer magazine in December she was happy with the way she looked.

'This Christmas is about celebrating my fab year. I finally feel my weight isn’t the first thing on everyone’s lips – it’s all about Steps and where I’m heading in the future.

'I’m happy the way I am – I’m just me. If the likes of Diana Dors and Marilyn Monroe can be curvy but still sexy, I’ll happily have them as role models!'

She added: 'I desperately want the focus on my voice than my size. Keeping the weight off it where I struggle.

'To stay a size 10, I was having to think about dieting all the time, and that's no way to live.'


source:dailymail