The one about…Posh Spice!

This possibly ought to have been called “Pissing off Posh”. It’s a bit of a deep dive into the time I was granted an audience with Mrs Beckham.

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Continuing my Spice series - here’s the next instalment! ENJOY!

THE THING ABOUT Victoria Beckham is she’s the dream to interview. Funny, down to earth and honest. She’s quite the unexpected open book.

You've got to hand it to Victoria – who bowed out of returning to the Spice Girls for the stadium tour in 2019 - she's done well to build her image as one of the fashion world's biggest stars.  She’s a grafter - having worked her butt off over the years to ensure she's taken seriously in the fashion world.

My tabloid tale for this week begins when I was granted a sit-down interview with her in February 2012 for the Sunday Mirror. I knew it was going to be a tricky one. I wanted to try and crack the mold and get a glimpse of the woman behind the designer shades and swanky heels.

Victoria's then publicist, Jo Milloy, met me before the chat and emphasised the point of the chat was to centre around the fashion world primarily but that she hoped we would get on and I could get other great lines on her private life. I had 15 minutes for my interview (not long in interview terms) and I needed to be on the ball from the second I walked in.

It was a Friday evening and the deal was, Victoria was throwing a champagne reception for fashion press in the Fifth Floor restaurant at Harvey Nichol's in Knightsbridge. I’d have my time with her afterwards.

From the moment Victoria tottered around the corner in sky-high Louboutins I knew it was going to be fun. VB's got a fantasticly dry sense of humour and she's quick-witted. She was in the mood to hit back at a lot of the critics who had been constantly discussing her body and tired looks of late.

I knew I was onto a winner with the interview – she didn't hold back in the slightest. The truth was she was yet to enjoy a single night of undisturbed sleep since giving birth to daughter Harper seven months ago.

“I’m not getting much sleep at all,” she said. “Harper’s not sleeping that great, and I’ve been taking Skype business calls throughout the night too because of the collections. I’m up with the baby as all mums are and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s not a team of people doing it for me.

“And then people want to say I look crap. Well, I’m a working mum, so give me a break.

“It’s been crazy. I had Harper, I was working on the collection and I was straight back into it. I took a lot on board. I’m tired. You can’t look your best all the time.

“The time difference has been a nightmare lately. I’m spending ludicrous amounts of time in my dressing gown on Skype talking to my team about the clothes.”

I was feeling sorry for her. Surely, she was planning to take some time out now she’d debuted another two new fashion collections to widespread critical acclaim.

“Well, I’d like there to be a break, but I very much doubt it’s going to happen any time soon,” she said. “When Harper sleeps that will be my break.

“The thing is I get the game I’m in. People can read the shit about me and believe what they want, and I get it. But I don’t want to focus on that side of things. The glass is always half full for me. You can’t get hung up on what other people say. I surround myself with the people that matter. And everything else can just go away.”

It was fair to say the interview was going extremely well. She was tired, maybe a tad irritable and wanted to make sure she did the interview quickly and precisely. She also didn't care about the 15-minute time limit. “Oh, don't worry – I'll just be late,” she scoffed slurping on a glass of Bollinger. “They won't go anywhere.”

I managed to start swerving the fashion questions by halfway through and we moved on to talking about the kids.

She was at her happiest talking about her family. She and David clearly made every day primarily about their children.

“The boys love sport and they’re very good at drawing and art,” she revealed. “Brooklyn is amazing at creative writing too and Cruz is obviously a superhero. He’s in his own little world. They’re such great spirits but we’re very strict parents. You have to be with kids these days. They have to do their homework and if it’s not done then they can’t do other things.

“Brooklyn’s a great musician actually. He loves playing the guitar. Cruz has become really good at taekwondo lately. I just want them all to try their different things and work out what they want to do in life.”

No subject matter seemed off limits. We talked Spice Girls and their rumoured Jubilee appearance, her body and fitness and even touched on who she wanted to dress soon.

We'd gone miles over our timeslot, and I knew I had to wrap things up. My last question to her was: “Would you ever Google your own name?”

She burst into hysterical laughter and said: “God no. It would probably be horrifying to see what people say about me. I’d prefer not to know. I’ve got better things to do with my time than sit there looking at myself.”

I stopped my tape recorder and knew I'd got a brilliant interview in the bag – even though my editor Tina Weaver had essentially done what she always did and written up the interview in her head before I’d even set off to do the interview. Victoria seemed over the moon and asked me what I was doing that evening.

“Well thanks to you I'm working this evening,” I said giving her a wink.

Richard Young was on hand to take a snap of us. Walking out of the room I took a chance to say how pleased I was to spend quality time with her.

“This has been great, you know,” I began. “I love the fact people write you're miserable, you're too this or that, thin, moody and the rest – but the reality is you're fun. It's a good thing to know.”

“Look, if people want to say I’m f***ing miserable then so be it,” she replied. “I’m really not. I have a lot on my plate. I’m not going to lie about it, I’m tired. I’m really tired but I’m also very happy with my life. I’m basically just like any woman who’s working and has lots of children – it’s tough.”

There's the headline, I thought scribbling all that down on the way out.

Jo was pleased with how things went and whispered: “You got ages! You get everything you needed?”

“Erm, yes,” I said rushing off to transcribe the chat en route home.

I put a call into Tina Weaver, the editor back then, as I rushed off to the tube. “Tina, it went so well,” I said.

“Did it sweetie – OK, we'll see if we can get it into the paper tomorrow,” she replied.

Tina had this spectacular way of telling you it wasn't guaranteed to make the paper so that you fought for it and tried harder to get it in. Mind games. We used to call her Tricksy because you could never quite work out exactly what she planned to do next.

Deputy Editor James Scott, who we all called Scotty, was thrilled with the results of the interview and couldn't wait to read it. Phew.

Doing big interviews like this gave you the adrenalin buzz of working on a national newspaper. No other tabloid paper had been granted time with Victoria so I knew it was exclusive and nobody could ruin it by chucking the word 'exclusive' on a makeshift interview.

By midnight I'd transcribed every word, written up the piece as two separate interviews (one personal life colour spread and a breakout on her fashion credentials).

Going into the office like Billy Big Balls the next day and showing off the interview I'd done with one of the world's biggest stars was a total joy. I must have looked like such a smug twat.

Tina and Scotty realised it was a great interview and immediately cleared a spread in the paper for it to run the next day. Tina even ended up putting a blurb on the front cover which read: “Posh fumes: 'If people think I'm f***ing miserable then so be it.'”

I went to the pub after work in Canary Wharf for a celebratory gin or two and waited for the papers to drop at midnight. It looked great and I hoped Jo would be extremely happy with the piece.

The following morning at the crack of dawn my phone started going. So many texts from people right across the board in the industry.

“Well done darling, you've done a great job on Posh today.”

“Look at you seeing the real Posh.”

“Ere, you got some great lines out of her.”

I was on cloud nine. Well, I was on cloud nine until a text was received from Jo after lunch.

“Your interview has caused such a shit storm,” it read.

“How? It's so positive and she comes across great – I've had so many messages about it,” I replied.

“VB's furious about the swear words being used and hates it. She thinks we ganged together to damage her reputation,” Jo said.

“Are you kidding?” I replied.

It turned out Jo wasn't kidding at all. Victoria hated it. Apparently, she felt we got together to plan to make her sound tired, exhausted and struggling to cope. She also hated the way I wrote the piece and the fact it made her sound like a 'normal' wife and mother dealing with all the constraints of being a parent.

To say I was gutted was an understatement and it would later turn out that Victoria had been told off in a huge way by her mother Jackie over the swear words used. How funny is that? It doesn't matter who you are or what you do mums are always in charge.

It turned out 'Poshgate' – as we quickly nicknamed it - wasn't something Victoria was willing to let be swept under the carpet.

I made sure Tina took the swear words out of the online version of the article and hoped that would help diffuse the situation. Jo text the following day saying: “She's not calming down about it at all. She's said she will never work with you or the paper again too. Sorry. X”

I couldn't believe it. We'd got on like a house on fire throughout the interview and things had looked brilliant in the paper. With an entire spread bigging up the fact she was a global fashion queen. Universally, the industry had said it was a fantastic piece and VB had come across like a brilliant professional mother.

Having time to reflect on the situation she probably didn't like the fact she came across as a normal human being – not the steel faced fashion queen she wanted people to recognise her as.

Ten months later at the launch of the Spice Girls musical Viva Forever at a press conference at the St. Pancreas Hotel I hoped to patch up the fall out with Victoria face to face after the girls had done their piece on stage infront of the world's press.

“She knows you're here and doesn't want to speak,” Jo text.

Despite getting on famously with the Spice Girls for many years and having brilliant relationships with them all, Victoria avoided eye contact with me and immediately left the press conference to catch a flight.

Here’s the article that ran…

Victoria Beckham hits out at critics accusing her of looking gaunt and miserable

19 Feb 2012

Sunday Mirror

“I’m basically just like any woman who’s working and has lots of children – it’s tough," she says

In the last few days she has been called skinny, gaunt, downcast, malnourished and moody.

But Victoria Beckham has had enough of the cruel jibes since arriving back in Britain three days ago, and lashed out at her critics.

“Look, if people want to say I’m miserable then so be it,” she says. “I’m really not. I have a lot on my plate. I’m not going to lie about it, I’m tired. I’m really tired but I’m also very happy with my life.

“I’m basically just like any woman who’s working and has lots of children – it’s tough.”

The truth is she is yet to enjoy a night of undisturbed sleep since giving birth to her daughter Harper seven months ago.

“I’m not getting much sleep at all,” reveals Victoria, who has been flitting between LA, London and New York due to her work as a fashion designer.

“Harper’s not sleeping that great, and I’ve been taking Skype business calls throughout the night too because of the collections. I’m up with the baby as all mums are and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s not a team of people doing it for me.

“And then people want to say I look crap. Well, I’m a working mum, so give me a break.

“It’s actually been crazy. I had Harper, I was working on the collection and I was straight back into it. I took a lot on board. I’m tired. You can’t look your best all the time.

“The time difference has been a  nightmare lately. I’m spending ludicrous amounts of time in my dressing gown on Skype talking to my team about the clothes.”

Surely she’s planning to take some time out now she’s debuted two new fashion collections to widespread critical acclaim? But Victoria, 37, says: “Well I’d like there to be a break but I very much doubt it’s going to happen any time soon. When Harper sleeps that will be my break.

“The thing is I get the game I’m in. People can read the s**t about me and believe what they want and I get it. But I don’t want to focus on that side of things. The glass is always half full for me. You can’t get hung up on what other people say. I surround myself with the people that matter. And  everything else can just go away.”

Victoria, who rose to fame as Posh Spice in the Spice Girls,  continually refers to “being positive” and laughs and jokes  throughout our chat,  which is conducted over a glass of pink  champagne at the Harvey Nichols’ launch of her Victoria dress line.

She says that although she doesn’t smile much she certainly has a sense of  humour. That became clear this week when she posted a picture of herself appearing to cup  husband David’s “package” while posing in front of one of his H&M billboards.

She’s definitely at her happiest talking about her family. She and David, 36, make every day about their children. Harper travels with  Victoria, and the boys, Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, nine, and Cruz, six, are mostly with David.

“The boys love sport and they’re very good at drawing and art,” she says. “Brooklyn is amazing at creative writing too and Cruz is obviously a superhero. He’s in his own little world. They’re such great spirits but we’re very strict parents. You have to be with kids these days. They have to do their homework and if it’s not done then they can’t do other things.

“Brooklyn’s a great musician actually. He loves playing the guitar. Cruz has become  really good at taekwondo lately. I just want them all to try their different things and work out what they want to do in life.”

Victoria laughs about David’s comments on a recent episode of the Jonathan Ross Show when he said they plan to have more kids.

“I don’t know about that one. I love being a mum and my children are my priority.”

Is she dodging the question? “No,” she says. “The thing is I’m not against having more children. I feel lucky having the kids I have and I guess I do like being pregnant. But  definitely not just yet. I want to enjoy the kids I’ve got right now. Our entire lives are planned around their lives. We don’t want to miss  anything in their lives. Ever.”

There’s no escaping the fact that Victoria is very thin. Does she work out to keep her figure in check? “After Harper arrived I did work out to get my body back but  quickly stopped,” she says. “I guess once Harper finally starts  sleeping all the way through the night then I will start working out again.

“I feel better mentally and I feel more with it. I’m actually craving being on a treadmill and maybe doing a bit of yoga.”

Victoria reveals that the jury is out on whether the family plan to keep Beckingham Palace, their UK base in Sawbridgeworth, Herts.

“The truth is we don’t know what we are doing with it right now,” she says. “We’ve spent some great time there lately and there’s a lot of memories but LA is home for now.”

Recent reports suggested that she was the only Spice Girl blocking a  reunion performance at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee  celebrations.

“The thing with the Spice Girls is it was so flattering to be asked to do the Jubilee,” she explains. “But we have lots on our plates and we are all so focused on the end of the year and Viva Forever, the musical. The Jubilee isn’t going to happen. But the musical is going to be really great and we’re focusing on that.”

Unlike her reputation for being hard work and aloof, I found Victoria warm, funny, cheeky and she certainly loves to gossip.

My last question to her is: “Would you ever Google your own name?”

She bursts into hysterical laughter and says: “God no. It would probably be horrifying to see what people say about me. I’d prefer not to know. I’ve got better things to do with my time than sit there looking at myself.”

That was the last tabloid interview Victoria ever gave. It was a shame. I enjoyed every minute of being with her.

Since then, I’ve worked with her team, she’s eaten at restaurants I work with and generally I hope we’d be cool if we were in the same room. I’d like to think she was a mum-of-four under the pressure of balancing her work and personal life and it was partly the pressure of life that made my interview hit such a nerve. But who knows. Maybe one day I’ll get to sit down with her and chat it out.

One thing’s for sure – I’ve always had so much respect for her. What she’s done, the fashion empire she’s built, four well brought up children…she’s a wonder woman. Here’s a final pic - hanging with Victoria at the Oscars many moons ago…

Until Wednesday, Kids.