‘A wonderfully full and colourful life’: Sarah Harding was proud of her achievements
Before she died, Sarah Harding wanted to tell her story. Hers was a “wonderfully full and colourful life”, she said, and she was grateful to have achieved “above and beyond anything I dreamed of when I was a little girl”.
So at the same time as going through treatment for breast cancer, which had quickly spread to her lung and other parts of her body, she wrote her memoir – the story of the “other” Sarah Harding she felt had somehow become lost in celebrity.
After publicly revealing her diagnosis in August 2020, and later bravely opening up about her prognosis and mastectomy, the star’s family, friends and fans knew this day would come, but her death still comes as a huge shock. She was just 39.
Sarah Harding reacts to winning during the live final of Celebrity Big Brother, at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
As a member of Girls Aloud, one of the most successful pop bands in British music history, Harding certainly did have a full life: chart-topping singles, platinum sales, arena tours, and a Brit Award – something she described as one of the biggest moments of her life in her memoir, Hear Me Out, published in March.
“As usual, I was the first to grab the award,” she wrote. “Holding it aloft and screaming: ‘It’s about time!'”
In 2009, after years of success but not so much critical acclaim, in an industry that wasn’t always as appreciative of pop – female acts especially – as it is today, winning the best single Brit for The Promise was a huge deal. And Harding collected with the confidence of Liam Gallagher. Girls Aloud had earned their place at the table.
During her time in the band, she had become known as the group’s party girl, dubbed “Hardcore Harding” by the tabloids and once famously pictured swigging from a bottle of whisky at the NME Awards in 2007.
But behind the pop hellraiser image, there was always much more to the star.
Born in Ascot in Berkshire, Harding rose to fame in 2002 as a contestant on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals, the programme that would see her joining Girls Aloud alongside Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Pitted against boy band, One True Voice, Girls Aloud’s debut single – the drum-and-bass inspired curveball Sound Of The Underground – roundly trounced the boys’ forgettable ballad to make Christmas number one that year.
It was the beginning of the group that would go on to be one of the most influential pop acts of the era, paving the way for the likes of The Saturdays and Little Mix. Their innovative approach to mainstream pop meant they became one of the few UK reality television acts to achieve continued success.
Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Sarah Harding of girlband Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud released five studio albums, all of which reached platinum sales. They also achieved 20 consecutive top 10 hits, including four number ones – I’ll Stand By You, Walk This Way (with Sugababes) and The Promise, as well as Sound Of The Underground. In 2009, they were picked – alongside Jay-Z – to support Coldplay at Wembley.
In Hear Me Out, Harding said her time in the band had been “amazing” but also opened up about how hard it could sometimes be, saying it “wasn’t always quite as fabulous” as it appeared.
“It’s not like we were hard done by or being mistreated, far from it; it’s just the way things were when there was something big to promote,” she wrote. “We all knew we were leading a charmed life compared with most, and I always tried to appreciate that, but I didn’t feel glamorous a lot of the time, I can tell you.
“Yes, there were moments of glamour, but day to day it was often hard to keep up. Once you had your hair and make-up on, you’d step out on stage looking a million dollars, but sometimes underneath you’d be thinking, ‘Jesus, I’m knackered! How am I going to get through this?’ It was usually the rush of adrenaline that got me through, especially during a live show.”
In 2013, the group embarked on Ten: The Hits Tour, performing their final show in March of that year. A few hours later, they announced their split on Twitter; Harding said they had all agreed it was “time to say goodbye”.
In addition to her pop success, Harding had a varied career in acting and television, with early credits including roles in the St Trinian’s films and BBC drama Freefall, opposite Dominic Cooper. Later on, a guest appearance as Joni in Coronation Street in 2015 led to the star being invited back for further scenes on the famous cobbles.
In 2016, the star made her stage debut in Ghost – The Musical at the New Wimbledon Theatre in southwest London. The following year, she appeared in Celebrity Big Brother – and was later crowned the winner, beating X Factor singer Amelia Lily and Made In Chelsea’s Sam Thompson in the final.
In her personal life, Harding was previously engaged to DJ Tom Crane, but they announced the end of their four-year relationship in 2011. The star entered rehab shortly after their split and candidly detailed her struggles in her book.
Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding leaves the New Wimbledon Theatre in London after making her stage debut in a production of Ghost – The Musical.
But before she died, she wanted people to know that the party-girl image and problems with drinking did not define her.
“When I look back at my time in Girls Aloud, I feel like I became a caricature,” she wrote. “Okay, so maybe I put out a particular image, which the press and media latched on to. It was an easy one to work with: rock chick, blonde bombshell, party girl, the caner of the band…
“Somewhere among the nightclubs, the frocks and the hairdos, the big chart hits and the glamour of being a pop star, the other Sarah Harding got utterly lost.”
Now, as well as her huge success in the limelight, Harding will also be remembered for bravely sharing the story of her cancer. As a celebrity who had remained relatively private (if social media is a measure, her last Instagram post before revealing her diagnosis in had been more than two years earlier, in May 2018), it must have been a huge decision to speak out.
Singer Sarah Harding supporting a charity day at the London offices of Bloomberg Tradebook,
Noticing her lump during the COVID-19 pandemic, Harding put off getting it checked. When she was eventually diagnosed, while reluctant to make the news public she also knew that as a star with a huge following, her story might help others.
“Please girls – please everyone – don’t let anything get in your way – get checked out if you’re worried about something,” she wrote in Hear Me Out. “Of course, I can’t know for sure, but I believe that if I’d got things moving with appointments and check-ups faster than I did, I’d probably be in a better place than I am now.
“I think I would have had more options for treatment, and certainly less spread of disease. It’s a bloody hard pill to swallow, but the best I can hope for is that my experience might encourage other people to get themselves sorted as soon as possible.”
Sarah Harding arrives at a premiere
Harding also said that doctors had told her that Christmas 2020 would probably be her last.
“I don’t want an exact prognosis,” she wrote. “I don’t know why anyone would want that. Comfort and being as pain-free as possible is what’s important to me now…
“I’m trying to live and enjoy every second of my life, however long it might be. I am having a glass of wine or two during all this, because it helps me relax. I’m sure some people might think that’s not a great idea, but I want to try to enjoy myself. I’m at a stage now where I don’t know how many months I have left. Who knows, maybe I’ll surprise everyone, but that’s how I’m looking at things.
“Right now, I’m trying to find joy whenever and however I can. It’s definitely spending quality time with Mum and seeing my friends whenever I can. Life has got so much smaller, and my priorities have changed, but the other Sarah Harding is still in there somewhere too, trust me. Given half a chance, I know she’d be back with a vengeance, dancing on tables and laughing and joking with everyone.”
Sarah Harding
Speaking out publicly will no doubt have led to more women approaching their doctors, similar to Jade Goody’s cervical cancer in 2008.
“As scary as it was to go public about my diagnosis, it was the right thing to do, and the amount of support I’ve received is incredible,” Harding said. “I’ve been inundated with lovely messages from my fans. I’m grateful beyond words for that.”
That gratitude is no doubt being felt right back by women around the world.
Wes Anderson is a rarity in Hollywood, with an unswayed distinct aesthetic which has every big name in Hollywood pleading to be in his next project.
Fronted by Benicio del Toro, his new film The Phoenician Scheme sees the return of numerous previous collaborators including Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright and Scarlett Johansson, but also adds new faces to the Anderson universe.
It is set in the 1950s and follows a ruthless yet charismatic European business tycoon called Zsa-Zsa Korda who, in Anderson’s own words, “has very little obligation to honour the truth.”
Looking to solidify his own legacy, without much thought for his 10 children, the slaves he wants to use or the land he wants to exploit, Sza-Sza chases multiple deals so he can build his career-defining project, Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Scheme.
Director Wes Anderson on set. Pic: Roger Do Minh/TPS Productions/Focus Features
‘A motivation pill
The Phoenician Scheme was partly inspired by the life of Anderson’s father-in-law, whom he dedicated the film to, Lebanese businessman Fouad Malouf.
Del Toro tells Sky News it was a gift to play a truly unique character.
“It’s like taking a motivation pill,” he says.
“You’re motivated because it’s Wes Anderson, you’re motivated because of the script and the story and the character. It’s unpredictable, original. [There’s] one hell of an arc, and it’s full of contradictions.”
Director Wes Anderson on set. Pic: Roger Do Minh/TPS Productions/Focus Features
Always an actor in mind – well, mostly…
Michael Cera, who plays Bjorn, says he had a “sense of dread” joining the cast. His role was written with him in mind, something he still can’t believe is true.
“[Anderson] has got every actor at his disposal, you’d imagine,” he says.
With production pushed back due to an actors’ strike, Cera feared the project might “fall apart”.
“I was not really at ease until we were there,” he admits.
Every detail is meticulously planned in the Anderson film universe – from the art on the walls (original works from Renoir and Magritte in this case), to the intricate backstory of a character collecting fleas in a plastic bag as a child.
While most roles are written by the Fantastic Mr Fox filmmaker with certain actors in mind – the exception this time is Liesl, the daughter of the business tycoon.
Michael Cera as Bjorn and Benicio del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda. Pic: Focus Features
The dream phone call
After months of an audition process, Mia Threapleton got the call to play the straight-talking nun who is beckoned by her father to inherit the family business after his sixth near-death experience.
The 24-year-old daughter of Kate Winslet got the news via a call from her agent while she was on the train – and was in such disbelief she told her to call them back.
“I didn’t believe them – and she laughed at me [and said] ‘of course I’m not lying to you, this is true’. And then I sat on the floor and I cried.”
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Del Toro believes it was Threapleton’s screen test where she stood out as an “inventive” actor who thought on her feet that got her the part, having fashioned part of a makeshift nun costume with a napkin from a lunch tray.
“I said, ‘is there anyone who got any hairpins?’ And I pinned it to my head.”
Ticking a Wes Anderson film off the bucket list is a goal for many actors. Threapelton says she still hasn’t come to terms with achieving it so early in her career.
The Phoenician Scheme is in cinemas now.
Eight people have been found guilty of crimes connected to the gunpoint robbery of Kim Kardashian at a Paris hotel.
The theft targeting the TV personality, socialite and businesswoman in 2016 was carried out by a group the media dubbed the “grandpa robbers” as most were close to or of retirement age.
A six-member jury, led by three judges, reached a verdict on Friday following a four-week trial at Paris’s Palais de Justice.
The court found the ringleader and seven others guilty over the raid at the Hotel de Pourtales. Their sentences ranged from prison terms to a fine, but with time already served in pretrial detention, none of those convicted will go to jail.
The group were accused of pulling off one of the most audacious heists against a celebrity in modern French history, in the early hours of 3 October 2016 during Paris Fashion Week.
Wearing ski masks and disguised as police, the thieves stormed Kardashian‘s luxury hotel apartment, bound the star with zip ties, and stole jewellery worth an estimated $6m (£4.4m), including a ring given to her by then husband Kanye West.
‘You caused harm’
Chief judge David De Pas said the defendants’ ages – with the oldest being 79 and some others in their 60s and 70s – weighed on the court’s decision not to impose harsher sentences, and the nine years between the robbery and the trial was also taken into account.
He also told them the reality TV star had been traumatised by the raid, adding: “You caused harm. You caused fear.”
Some arrived in court in orthopaedic shoes and one leaned on a cane. But prosecutors warned observers not to be fooled.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the Paris trial
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Kim Kardashian’s testimony: What happened?
Ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, who arrived at court walking with a stick, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with five of those suspended.
His DNA, which was found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a key breakthrough that helped crack open the case. Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium.
Three others who were accused of the most serious charges got seven years imprisonment, five of them suspended.
‘Most terrifying experience of my life’
After the ruling, 44-year-old Kardashian, who was not present for the verdict, issued a statement, saying: “I am deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice in this case.
“The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family.
“While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice, and promoting a fair legal system.”
The court in the French capital found a ninth person guilty of illegal weapons charges, while a tenth person was cleared.
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Kardashian departing Paris court on 13 May
Kardashian ‘thought she would be raped and killed’
Five of the defendants, who were all aged between 60 and 72 at the time of the incident, faced armed robbery and kidnapping charges.
The remaining five defendants were charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
During the robbery, Kardashian, who previously told the court she thought she would be raped and killed, was bound with zip-ties and left in the bathtub.
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She described the robbery as “terrifying” and said while she felt forgiveness, that in no way altered “the emotion and the feelings and the trauma,” adding “my life is forever changed”.
Two members of the group – Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, and Yunice Abbas – who wrote a book called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, admitted some part in the robbery, while the remaining eight denied the charges.
Prosecutors had requested sentences of up to 10 years.
Kardashian earlier this week completed her six-year legal apprenticeship in California.
Most of the jewellery, which is understood to have been sold in Belgium, was never found.
A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece ever recovered.
Kneecap have released a new single ahead of their headline performance at London’s Wide Awake festival, just days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
The rap trio from Belfast shared a link to the song – The Recap – which opens with Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost reporting about the counter terrorism police investigation – on Instagram, linking to their WhatsApp channel.
Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
Bandmembers Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, also thanked the 25,000 fans who had bought tickets for Friday night’s festival.
They also reference Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, with whom they’ve had previous run-ins, writing: “Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you’ve any seats left.”
Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Ms Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.
Ms Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Some other politicians have made the same demand.
The track mocks Badenoch’s attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party’s election loss. It features DJ Mozey.
It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.
He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer, saying: “I need to thank my lawyer, he’s here tonight as well.”
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Stars talk about risks of speaking out
In video footage posted to YouTube, the band led the audience in a chant of “free Mo Chara” and joked about the police presence at the venue.
Police said they attended to manage visitors to the sold-out event.
The band said on X that the central London event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.
O hAnnaidh, 27, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English and proved a critical hit in the 2024 semi-fictionalised band origin story movie Kneecap, starring actor Michael Fassbender.
Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
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