Paul Cattermole: S Club 7 star dies aged 46

S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole has died at the age of 46, weeks after the band announced a comeback tour.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved son and brother Paul Cattermole,” a statement from his family and the pop group said.

He died on Thursday and the cause of his death is unknown but there are no suspicious circumstances, it said.

S Club 7 were one of the biggest pop acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Their hits included Reach, Don’t Stop Movin’ and S Club Party. In total, they had 11 UK top 10 singles, including four number ones, and sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. They also won two Brit Awards.

The statement said: “While the cause of death is currently unknown, Dorset Police has confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances. Paul’s family, friends and fellow members of S Club request privacy at this time”.

On social media, his bandmates said they were “truly devastated”.

“There are no words to describe the deep sadness and loss we all feel,” they wrote.

“We were so lucky to have had him in our lives and are thankful for the amazing memories we have.

“He will be so deeply missed by each and every one of us. We ask that you respect the privacy of his family and of the band at this time.”

In February, the group announced another reunion tour, with 11 dates at arenas in the UK and Ireland scheduled for later this year.

Tributes have flooded in from fans and friends. TV and radio host Vernon Kay said the news of Cattermole’s death was “so very sad”.

Jeremy Edwards, former boyfriend of S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens, wrote: “My thoughts and love go to all your friends and family.”

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly said Cattermole was a “lovely man” to interview, and she had been “struck by how gentle and shy he was”.

S Club 7 were formed by Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and first found fame in 1999 on BBC children’s TV show Miami 7.

After their huge chart success, Cattermole left the group in 2002, after which his bandmates dropped the number from their name.

“It had got to the point where things were being handled so badly, I had to go,” he told the Guardian in 2019.

Cattermole rejoined his previous metal band Skua, but struggled to break out of the pop pigeonhole and the association with S Club was too strong to overcome in order to form a credible rock career.

The remaining group eventually split the following year, with partial reunions – some involving Cattermole – following in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

“It was five years of my life,” he told the paper. “I definitely thought when I was 20, that by the time I was 40 it would be a done thing. And it’s not… I’ve been answering S Club questions for 20 years.

“It will be great – it will be bliss – to one day not have to, but it’s part of it, and I totally accept that.”

All seven S Club members reunited in 2014, and Cattermole starred in a stage production of The Rocky Horror Show the following year.

But he said he never saw much of the money his group made, and put his Brit Award statuette – won for best newcomer in 2000 – on eBay in 2018 after struggling to find work due to a back injury.

According to the Guardian in 2019, Cattermole moved on to working odd jobs including as manager of a community radio station.

He told ITV’s Loose Women he wanted to appear on a reality TV show, but “they just haven’t wanted me”. In recent years, he was offering personal tarot readings.

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