S Club 7's Paul Cattermole has died aged 46 just weeks after it was revealed the band would be reforming for a reunion tour.
The pop legend was found dead at his home in Dorset yesterday with tributes pouring in for the late star from celebrities and loved ones.
The singer had been looking forward to joining the rest of the band for the reunion scheduled for later this year to mark 25 years since the release of their first single, Bring It All Back.
Just days earlier, Paul was photographed on a walk in the countryside.
A statement from his family added: "It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved son and brother Paul Cattermole.
"Paul was found yesterday, 6th April 2023 at his home in Dorset and was pronounced dead later that afternoon.
"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."
Here we take a look at Paul's rise to fame and career highlights
Who was Paul Cattermole?
Paul born March 7, 1977, in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
As a youngster, Paul began pursing his passion for performance at the National Youth Music Theatre, studying theatre.
Paul, then 17, also met future band member Hannah Spearritt at the National Youth Theatre and the pair went on to star in in ' Pendragon '.
The couple became close friends during their days studying theatre, but would later go on to develop their relationship into a romantic one.
Paul and Hannah kept their relationship secret for around six months during the early days of S Club 7, before making a public announcement in November 2001.
The couple dated until early 2006.
Friends close to the band said pals Hannah "broke down" when she heard the news.
A source told The Sun: “Everyone is in pieces. Hannah and the rest of the gang broke down when told what happened.
“No one can believe it. There is a real sense of horror and disbelief.”
Joining S Club 7
In 1997, Paul went on to take part in auditions for Simon Fuller - founder of the Spice Girls.
Talented Paul was chosen as one of seven member's of Fuller's new band, joining Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens as the next new pop sensation.
His audition stood out from around 10,000 others who queued for hours in the hope of joining the next big pop sensation.
Music mogul and talent scout Fuller had been fired by the Spice Girls in 1997, who wanted to move forward by managing themselves.
Fuller reportedly began setting the wheels in motion for a new band the very next day.
Finding TV fame
The group was formed in 1998 and quickly rose to fame in their BBC television sitcom, Miami 7.
The show first aired on CBBC on BBC and documented the lives of the group of who had moved to Miami, Florida, in search of fame in America.
Miami 7 was also streamed to US audiences, airing on Fox Family and ABC Family, eventually being retitled S Club 7 in Miami for American viewers.
The show eventually celebrated worldwide success and was watched by 90 million viewers in over 100 countries.
Spinoff shows also gathered traction, with ' Back to the 50s ', which aired on CITV and told the story of the group finding themselves transported back in time to 1959.
The second spinoff, Boyfriends & Birthday s, saw Rachel Stevens' boyfriend give her an ultimatum of staying with him or remaining with S Club 7.
Storming the music world
Paul would go on to describe their band's music as a "dreamscape" amid demanding schedules of TV appearances and performances.
Following on from TV fame, the band entered the competitive music world, releasing the theme music to their Miami 7 show as their debut single.
The up-tempo ' Bring It All Back ' reached number one in the UK charts and went on to sell more than 600,000 copies
S Club 7 went on to enjoy further success with their second single ' S Club Party '.
Following their TV success and hit singles, the group released their debut album 'S Club' in October 1999.
The album quickly rose to number-two in the UK before becoming certified Double Platinum. [
The Brit Award winning band recorded four studio albums, released 11 singles and sold more than 10 million albums worldwide.
S Club 7 would go on to spend much of their time on the road, sometimes travelling between the America and the UK multiple times a month.
Paul once commented that the speed of the schedule sometimes caused a "kind of dreamscape in your head", as the group often felt "jetlagged and tired".
In February 2000, the group won the 'British Breakthrough Act' award at the Brits and later that year 2000, the band's second TV series, L.A. 7 was released.
The series saw the group depart from Miami and move to Los Angeles to seek a record deal. It introduced the song ' Reach ' to the world - arguably one of the group's most successful singles which paved the way for the their second album, 7 .
Charity work
The group went on to release a more mature sounding charity single ' Never Had a Dream Come True' , which saw them hand £200,000 to Children in Need.
As a result, S Club 7 were invited back and asked to record a second consecutive Children in Need single, in November 2001.
It was decided that ' Have You Eve r' would also be released for the charity campaign and their Children In Need performance on the night featured many primary school children who had pre-recorded their own versions of the chorus.
Paul quits S Club 7
In 2002, Paul quit S Club 7 to rejoin his school metal band, Skua, which he likened to Limp Bizkit.
He said it was a perfect time to make the transition back from pop to rock as S Club 7's record contracts were up for renewal.
Paul stayed with S Club 7 until June 2002, featuring in four out of thirteen episodes of the group's final television series, Viva S Club , and performing his final concert with the group for Party at the Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations.
Later life
Paul went on to live a relatively quiet life largely away from the public eye.
However in August 2014, it was reported that the band would be reforming under the backing of Simon Fuller and while Paul initially denied the reports , he went on to say a "God damn close to happening".
On 22 October, it was confirmed that all seven members of S Club 7 would reunite for the BBC Children in Need telethon which aired on 14 November 2014, with S Club 7 performing a medley of four of their greatest hits: ' S Club Party' , ' Reach' , ' Bring It All Back' and ' Don't Stop Movin' .
In November 2014, S Club 7 announced their plans for an arena reunion tour, which toured the UK in May 2015.
In February of this year, S Club's social media accounts said a major announcement would be made on The One Show, where Barrett, O'Meara and Stevens went on to revealed they were reuniting to go on tour for their 25th anniversary.
Confirming their reunion tour the band said: "We can't even believe it's been so long, music and friendship have always been at the core of everything that we've ever done."
