C.Birch
1st Dec 07, 12:31
'This is the cherry on the cake. We are both thrilled'
Having spent the last few years concentrating on her solo career, former Steps star Lisa Scott-Lee is looking forward to her most exciting new production yet - her first baby.
It's been a busy year for the Welsh-born singer/TV star and her husband, former Hear'Say singer Johnny Shentall, and both are looking forward to some time off together with their new arrival.
They announce the happy news to hello! at their beautiful six-bedroom detached house on the edge of woodland in Berkshire. This is the rural home they always planned to fill with children when they moved in a year before their 2004 wedding. Now that Lisa, who turns 31 in November, is four months pregnant, they are finally making that dream a reality.
"We are so excited," says Lisa with a smile - and, unable to resist a joke, adding: "It couldn't be better timing smocks are in fashion, even if you're not pregnant, and the smoking ban has just come in."
As she and 28-year-old Johnny - or J, as Lisa affectionately calls him - cuddle up on the sofa, they're a picture of happiness and it's obvious that, nine years down the line, their relationship is as strong as ever.
Congratulations on your pregnancy. Are you excited?
Lisa: "We are both thrilled. Ever since we met, we knew we wanted to get married and have children, Johnny more so than me, but anyone who knows me knows that I've always been very career driven. This is my tenth year in the business and I really feel that I've fulfilled all my ambitions. This is the perfect way to mark that, it's the cherry on the top.
"Johnny comes from a big family. He has one brother and so many cousins, who all live in the same road. I have three brothers and family is the most important thing to us, it's kept us sane over the years."
Johnny: "Since I was 17 there's always been a new baby in the family. I love kids."
Lisa, when did you decide to start trying?
"We wanted the first few years of married life to be just us but when we got to our second anniversary in August last year we started talking about it. But that September I got Dancing an Ice so the baby plans went on the backburner. I did it for almost a year because after the series we did a nationwide tour that finished last May. Johnny had been touring, too, on Footloose so the month we got back, we had some catching up to do! And two weeks later, I was pregnant"
Why do you think it happened so quickly?
"I was the fittest I'd ever been, I was back to my Steps days. I toned up and lost some weight and I was healthy and very happy.
It was the right time. Johnny had one day off from tour - it was Father's Day, funnily enough - and a couple of weeks later, I started to feel different. We went for a meal with my parents and I didn't want my wine, which rang alarm bells because I usually enjoy a glass.
I felt nauseous and was off my food. My mum and dad had given us a bottle of pink champagne and I put it in the fridge because I had a sneaking suspicion we might be celebrating. I couldn't sleep a wink that night, I so wanted to do a test."
How did you break the news to Johnny?
"I wanted to do it in a romantic way. I was thrilled, shocked and scared when the test went positive - I remember saying, 'Oh my God,' at the bathroom mirror.
Johnny was still in bed so I came down, got the champagne out of the fridge and put it next to the pregnancy test on a gold tray with two glasses. Then I carried it to the bedroom and said, 'Sweetheart, you need to wake up. It's a very special day, we're having a baby.'"
How did he react?
"He sat bolt upright in bed and we hugged and laughed and cried. It was
really magical."
Do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?
Johnny: "They asked if we wanted to know and we said no. I think at the 20 week scan they will have to keep away from certain areas."
Lisa: "We don't want to know. I love surprises."
Have you felt any movement yet from the baby?
Johnny: "We are just getting the first little flutters now. We were watching telly when it first happened."
Lisa: "I nearly jumped out of my skin the first time! At the scan, the baby was bouncing around, so I think we've got another dancer. The nurse passed me the tissues because I was teary and J asked for one, too. That's what I love about him, he's a strong Northern man but he is in touch with his emotions and can express how happy he is."
When are you due, Lisa?
"Early March, and I feel very lucky because, so far, I've had a lovely pregnancy. I'm almost halfway now and I've had days where I've felt so sick I can't open the fridge - but I haven't actually been sick.
I've had lots of energy - I'm very active anyway and have been working every day, doing TV shows and shoots. And I'm off to China tomorrow for two weeks to release my album there."
What have you been doing work-wise?
"I'm not really doing anything musically in this country because the industry has changed so much and pop isn't really at the forefront here these days, whereas in China they are still pop mad.
"I do a lot of TV here though. I loved Dancing on Ice and I've been filming with Ricky Gervais for Extras. I'm in the last one, the Christmas special. He'd seen Dancing on Ice and got in touch. Everyone asked, 'How the hell did you get that?'
"I spent a week at Pinewood Studios and we had a lot of scenes where we had to be deadpan but he was useless at that! Ricky was giggling, I was smirking and we had to do a lot of retakes."
Will you take time off after the birth?
"Yes, definitely. We're doing Jack and the Beanstalk in Derby together at Christmas. We didn't know when we agreed that we would fall pregnant now, but I feel so well I feel I can do it. Johnny is Jack and I'm pregnant princess. It means we can afford to take time off together after the birth. For the first time ever, work will take second place."
Johnny: "I'm in Footloose at the Playhouse in London until I leave to do panto. I'm really glad we have the panto together so I can keep an eye on her. The producers are so supportive. They are putting a bed in the dressing room so Lisa can rest."
You, Johnny and your family were filmed for a year for the fly-on-the-wall MTV series Totally Scott-Lee, Was that an interesting experience?
Lisa: "Interesting is the word I'd use! Looking back, it was a successful show and beat The Newlyweds in the ratings, but I wouldn't do it again. We all found it difficult and intrusive.
I didn't enjoy the end. I was given an ultimatum of reaching No. 10 in the charts with my new single, or quitting the music business. I worked as hard as I could and got to No. 13, but somehow it was turned into a negative because it wasn't No.10."
Johnny: "It was MTVs biggest show and that's what we take with us. I think if our kids ever watch it, I will urge them to be an accountant or a lawyer instead."
Lisa, how would you feel about your children following you into showbusiness?
"I'd love it. They're going to stage school whether they like it or not!"
Do you think the music business has changed?
"Hugely. It's all about celebrity now, people are famous for nothing. While I don't begrudge anyone their lucky break - I've had mine - it's not the same as it used to be. It's too accessible now."
Do you both keep in touch with your band mates?
Johnny: "Yes, very much so with Myleene [Klass]. She's just had her baby and said, 'Ring me for advice, my phone is always on.'"
Lisa: "I still see the Steps gang. We've just had Claire's 30th birthday and she had a beautiful baby, Charlie."
Lisa, with Take That and the Spice Girls reforming, do you think Steps could ever make a comeback?
"It would have to be the right thing for all of us, but if the fans wanted it there's a chance when we stop having babies."
Do you think going through the same experience brought you two closer?
"Definitely. We have led parallel lives in many ways. We both left home at 17 to go to stage school in London, and we were both dancers who did the pop group thing."
Your careers mean lots of time apart How difficult is it to keep your marriage on track?
Johnny: "When the front door is closed and we are both here, we are in our own little world. We don't talk about work or read the papers. We do simple things like going to the local pub to have Sunday lunch, and I think that's why we are so close."
Lisa: "We miss each other when we're apart but it's about mutual respect, trust and, above all, having fun."
Are you romantic?
Lisa: "We are. We leave notes for each other everywhere and we still go out on dates. We have our own lives, but we are such a tight unit And I keep him on his toes! We both joke that we wear one leg of the trousers each."
Johnny: "And if any bloke is honest, he'd say-that sometimes he has to wear the shorts."
Are you keen to have a big family?
Lisa: "We definitely want more than one if we are lucky enough. This was always the house we were going to have babies in."
Johnny: "And there's still enough room for the grandparents to stay over."
Are your families thrilled?
Lisa: "Our mums cried when we told them. It's my parents' first grandchild. We threw a garden party when I was three months pregnant and told the whole family then."
Johnny: "My brother Steve has two girls who were both born in March so it's going to be an expensive month for Nanny and Grandad Shentall from now on."
Photos: Nicky Johnston
Styling: Nicole Kerr
Hair: Mark Leeson
Make-up: Jackie Tyson
Having spent the last few years concentrating on her solo career, former Steps star Lisa Scott-Lee is looking forward to her most exciting new production yet - her first baby.
It's been a busy year for the Welsh-born singer/TV star and her husband, former Hear'Say singer Johnny Shentall, and both are looking forward to some time off together with their new arrival.
They announce the happy news to hello! at their beautiful six-bedroom detached house on the edge of woodland in Berkshire. This is the rural home they always planned to fill with children when they moved in a year before their 2004 wedding. Now that Lisa, who turns 31 in November, is four months pregnant, they are finally making that dream a reality.
"We are so excited," says Lisa with a smile - and, unable to resist a joke, adding: "It couldn't be better timing smocks are in fashion, even if you're not pregnant, and the smoking ban has just come in."
As she and 28-year-old Johnny - or J, as Lisa affectionately calls him - cuddle up on the sofa, they're a picture of happiness and it's obvious that, nine years down the line, their relationship is as strong as ever.
Congratulations on your pregnancy. Are you excited?
Lisa: "We are both thrilled. Ever since we met, we knew we wanted to get married and have children, Johnny more so than me, but anyone who knows me knows that I've always been very career driven. This is my tenth year in the business and I really feel that I've fulfilled all my ambitions. This is the perfect way to mark that, it's the cherry on the top.
"Johnny comes from a big family. He has one brother and so many cousins, who all live in the same road. I have three brothers and family is the most important thing to us, it's kept us sane over the years."
Johnny: "Since I was 17 there's always been a new baby in the family. I love kids."
Lisa, when did you decide to start trying?
"We wanted the first few years of married life to be just us but when we got to our second anniversary in August last year we started talking about it. But that September I got Dancing an Ice so the baby plans went on the backburner. I did it for almost a year because after the series we did a nationwide tour that finished last May. Johnny had been touring, too, on Footloose so the month we got back, we had some catching up to do! And two weeks later, I was pregnant"
Why do you think it happened so quickly?
"I was the fittest I'd ever been, I was back to my Steps days. I toned up and lost some weight and I was healthy and very happy.
It was the right time. Johnny had one day off from tour - it was Father's Day, funnily enough - and a couple of weeks later, I started to feel different. We went for a meal with my parents and I didn't want my wine, which rang alarm bells because I usually enjoy a glass.
I felt nauseous and was off my food. My mum and dad had given us a bottle of pink champagne and I put it in the fridge because I had a sneaking suspicion we might be celebrating. I couldn't sleep a wink that night, I so wanted to do a test."
How did you break the news to Johnny?
"I wanted to do it in a romantic way. I was thrilled, shocked and scared when the test went positive - I remember saying, 'Oh my God,' at the bathroom mirror.
Johnny was still in bed so I came down, got the champagne out of the fridge and put it next to the pregnancy test on a gold tray with two glasses. Then I carried it to the bedroom and said, 'Sweetheart, you need to wake up. It's a very special day, we're having a baby.'"
How did he react?
"He sat bolt upright in bed and we hugged and laughed and cried. It was
really magical."
Do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?
Johnny: "They asked if we wanted to know and we said no. I think at the 20 week scan they will have to keep away from certain areas."
Lisa: "We don't want to know. I love surprises."
Have you felt any movement yet from the baby?
Johnny: "We are just getting the first little flutters now. We were watching telly when it first happened."
Lisa: "I nearly jumped out of my skin the first time! At the scan, the baby was bouncing around, so I think we've got another dancer. The nurse passed me the tissues because I was teary and J asked for one, too. That's what I love about him, he's a strong Northern man but he is in touch with his emotions and can express how happy he is."
When are you due, Lisa?
"Early March, and I feel very lucky because, so far, I've had a lovely pregnancy. I'm almost halfway now and I've had days where I've felt so sick I can't open the fridge - but I haven't actually been sick.
I've had lots of energy - I'm very active anyway and have been working every day, doing TV shows and shoots. And I'm off to China tomorrow for two weeks to release my album there."
What have you been doing work-wise?
"I'm not really doing anything musically in this country because the industry has changed so much and pop isn't really at the forefront here these days, whereas in China they are still pop mad.
"I do a lot of TV here though. I loved Dancing on Ice and I've been filming with Ricky Gervais for Extras. I'm in the last one, the Christmas special. He'd seen Dancing on Ice and got in touch. Everyone asked, 'How the hell did you get that?'
"I spent a week at Pinewood Studios and we had a lot of scenes where we had to be deadpan but he was useless at that! Ricky was giggling, I was smirking and we had to do a lot of retakes."
Will you take time off after the birth?
"Yes, definitely. We're doing Jack and the Beanstalk in Derby together at Christmas. We didn't know when we agreed that we would fall pregnant now, but I feel so well I feel I can do it. Johnny is Jack and I'm pregnant princess. It means we can afford to take time off together after the birth. For the first time ever, work will take second place."
Johnny: "I'm in Footloose at the Playhouse in London until I leave to do panto. I'm really glad we have the panto together so I can keep an eye on her. The producers are so supportive. They are putting a bed in the dressing room so Lisa can rest."
You, Johnny and your family were filmed for a year for the fly-on-the-wall MTV series Totally Scott-Lee, Was that an interesting experience?
Lisa: "Interesting is the word I'd use! Looking back, it was a successful show and beat The Newlyweds in the ratings, but I wouldn't do it again. We all found it difficult and intrusive.
I didn't enjoy the end. I was given an ultimatum of reaching No. 10 in the charts with my new single, or quitting the music business. I worked as hard as I could and got to No. 13, but somehow it was turned into a negative because it wasn't No.10."
Johnny: "It was MTVs biggest show and that's what we take with us. I think if our kids ever watch it, I will urge them to be an accountant or a lawyer instead."
Lisa, how would you feel about your children following you into showbusiness?
"I'd love it. They're going to stage school whether they like it or not!"
Do you think the music business has changed?
"Hugely. It's all about celebrity now, people are famous for nothing. While I don't begrudge anyone their lucky break - I've had mine - it's not the same as it used to be. It's too accessible now."
Do you both keep in touch with your band mates?
Johnny: "Yes, very much so with Myleene [Klass]. She's just had her baby and said, 'Ring me for advice, my phone is always on.'"
Lisa: "I still see the Steps gang. We've just had Claire's 30th birthday and she had a beautiful baby, Charlie."
Lisa, with Take That and the Spice Girls reforming, do you think Steps could ever make a comeback?
"It would have to be the right thing for all of us, but if the fans wanted it there's a chance when we stop having babies."
Do you think going through the same experience brought you two closer?
"Definitely. We have led parallel lives in many ways. We both left home at 17 to go to stage school in London, and we were both dancers who did the pop group thing."
Your careers mean lots of time apart How difficult is it to keep your marriage on track?
Johnny: "When the front door is closed and we are both here, we are in our own little world. We don't talk about work or read the papers. We do simple things like going to the local pub to have Sunday lunch, and I think that's why we are so close."
Lisa: "We miss each other when we're apart but it's about mutual respect, trust and, above all, having fun."
Are you romantic?
Lisa: "We are. We leave notes for each other everywhere and we still go out on dates. We have our own lives, but we are such a tight unit And I keep him on his toes! We both joke that we wear one leg of the trousers each."
Johnny: "And if any bloke is honest, he'd say-that sometimes he has to wear the shorts."
Are you keen to have a big family?
Lisa: "We definitely want more than one if we are lucky enough. This was always the house we were going to have babies in."
Johnny: "And there's still enough room for the grandparents to stay over."
Are your families thrilled?
Lisa: "Our mums cried when we told them. It's my parents' first grandchild. We threw a garden party when I was three months pregnant and told the whole family then."
Johnny: "My brother Steve has two girls who were both born in March so it's going to be an expensive month for Nanny and Grandad Shentall from now on."
Photos: Nicky Johnston
Styling: Nicole Kerr
Hair: Mark Leeson
Make-up: Jackie Tyson