Mel C Turns Down Spice Girls 21st Anniversary Reunion

Former Spice Girl Melanie C has revealed why she has turned down a lucrative offer to reunite with her bandmates.

Rumours of a possible world tour to mark 21 years since the release of the group's first hit Wannabe first surfaced last year.

But Mel C - previously known as Sporty Spice - has now joined Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) in ruling herself out of any comeback shows.

Geri Horner (Ginger Spice), Mel B (Scary Spice) and Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) are said to be pressing ahead with plans for a reunion tour - including a possible gig in London's Hyde Park.

Writing in Love Magazine, Mel C said after meeting with her former bandmates the plans "didn't feel quite right".

She wrote: "Truth be told, earlier this year, after several face-to-face meetings with the girls, I made the difficult decision not to be part of a proposed reunion with Emma, Geri and Melanie.

"Victoria had already bowed out, understandably with the demands of her fashion label and her rather large family.

"The hardest part for me was letting people down, the girls, the fans, civilisation?!

"Unfortunately something didn't feel quite right and I had to follow my gut."

Mel C - now 42 - said she believed the band had gone out on a high note with their performance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.

She wrote: "I'd love to play huge arenas across the world, sing our brilliantly bonkers pop songs and relive our former glory.

"It is of course a very lucrative opportunity too.

"But we were a five-piece band. Didn't we reach a peak with the Olympics? There's a lot to be said for bowing out on a high note.

"For me the absolute pinnacle of my Spice existence was being watched by a billion people around the globe belting out Spice Up Your Life on top of a black cab at the 2012 London Olympics.

"Anything less than the full line-up just didn't feel like we'd be doing justice to the band or the fans."

The Spice Girls previously reunited in 2007. A musical based on their songs - Viva Forever! - opened in 2012, but closed after seven months following poor reviews.