B*Witched now - from Netflix acting success to depression and Girls Aloud

B*Witched dominated the charts in 1998 as the first four singles from their eponymous debut album went to number one. However, just four years later in 2002 the Irish girlband, comprised of Lindsay Armaou and twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch and Sinéad O'Carroll disbanded.

However, ITV intervened and reunited them for The Big Reunion in 2012 and the group is together longer this time round than during their initial flush of success. Band member Lindsay Armaou, now 45, opened up exclusively to Express.co.uk about the pressure the band was under to replicate their early success when it came to making their second album.

She also filled in the missing years during which time she was carving out a successful acting career. Lindsay went back to school six years after B*Witched broke up and from 2008 to 2011 she trained as an actress at The Poor School.

"I feel like there was quite a big gap between the ending of the band and me going to drama school so I feel like it was enough of a gap for me not to feel like people were kind of thinking that about me," she recalls when asked how her classmates reacted to her presence." And also, there were people from all walks of life there so it was very, very mixed, and I didn't feel judged or anything like that.

"In that respect, it was funny how word got around about the band that I had been in. And it wasn't instant like everybody just recognised me straight off the bat. It was kind of like one or two people had an inkling, and then and then word got around, and then people kind of had the courage to come up and say, 'Is it true?'

"So it was funny. It was quite entertaining, but everyone had a bit of history - not to the extent maybe that I had - but it was a very mixed group of people anyway. So we were all in it together."

Asked if it was dififcult performing on her own without the other three girls Lindsay answers in the negative. "Prior to that, I had been doing some solo material and then I was also in a country band, so I'd done quite a bit of doing my own thing in between all that.

"I think it was good for me individually, because I really found myself in all of that and I found my confidence, and I found who I was, really on my own as a performer and on stage.

"And then the acting thing was like a different element altogether. After training as an actor, I felt like a fully rounded performer. I just, felt like I really kind of came into myself after that. And then, as I was kind of gaining a bit of momentum with the acting, and there were a few offers coming in, suddenly, we were approached to reunite for the big reunion."

"So it was a bit of a fork in the road. And it was like, 'Do I say no and continue down this path that I'm going on or do I dive back in and and see where that goes,' sort of thing. So it was a weird, weird moment actually because it was quite a big decision. But ultimately, you know, we decided to get back together as the group, and we're longer together this time than we were the first time, which is bizarre, which is mad."

Lindsay didn't give up her acting dream completely and in 2021 she was seen in the Netflix hit thriller Stay Close. However, she is more likely to be seen on stage with the group as they constantly tour playing their hits. Today they will take to the stage at the Superboxx festival alongside artists such as Phats and Smalls, Eternal, and Rozalla.

There is one huge difference within the band these days though - everyone is juggling a domestic situation alongside the music. Lindsay is a mum of two and admits it can be a struggle. "It really is a huge part of it. And it's the logistics, the challenge of what we do. Sometimes we must go around in circles and circles and circles, trying to pinpoint a day that we can all do something whether it's recording or getting together.

"And then once I get on that transport [to the gig], it's like, frantic, frantic. Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "'Have I done the batch cooking? Have I got the childcare sorted and the appointments? Have I told him about that?' Oh my god, the amount of the mental load. It's the mental load," she says.

"And I think it's so important to note that because I think so many women have that. So many women feel that. You go out to work, but you've also got all this mental load going on in the back of your head about everything - the domestic side of things, and the kids and the obligations. Did I get the birthday present for the party at the weekend? Did I order the thing?' Or, 'She's not got any shoes' - it's all of that going on at the same time. So, yeah, it's a huge part of it. But the work itself is the fun part. So we manage it."

What happened to the rest of the group?

Edele Lynch

After B*Witched disbanded Edele initally turned to songwriting. As part of the songwriting and production team Xenomania she co-wrote Some Kind of Miracle for Girls Aloud's debut album Sound of the Underground, and Buster, Situation's Heavy and Twisted for the Sugababes' third album Three. But the lure of the stage proved too strong and in 2006, she and twin sister Keavy created a duo called Ms Lynch, which was rebranded as "Barbarellas in 2009. She has also enjoyed a couple of reality TV appearances both in the UK and her native Ireland. In 2014 she came sixth on Celebrity Big Brother. She has one child, a daughter called Ceol, which is Irish for music.

Keavy Lynch

Keavy has admitted to suffering from depression following the band's break up. She initially continued to dabble in music forming Ziiiing!, a production and songwriting company, with musical partner Alex Toms. She later performed with twin sister Edele as part of Barbarellas and performed as a party and function singer with The Collection and The Monaco Band. She has also taken to the stage for panto on a couple of occasions. In 2014, she completed a degree, BSc Reflective Therapeutic Practice to become a qualified humanistic counsellor and her practice is now located in Kingston upon Thames. In 2017 she married her partner Nathaniel Comer and in January 2018 they welcomed their first child, a daughter, Freya. In October 2020, Keavy gave birth to two more children twins Felix and Elàna.

Sinead Carroll

Sinead famously lied about her age while in the band shaving five years off saying she was born in 1978. She was the first member of the group to quit leaving in June 2022 and the band officially called it a day that September. She remained in showbusiness and began managing a girl band called Minx, but they failed to sign with a record label. She then set her sights on training the next generation of stars and in 2006 founded The Star Academy, a music school in Dublin with singing and dancing classes for children and teenagers. She has also dabbled in acting and reality TV in her native Ireland. She has been married to Mike Rahman since June 2006 and they have a son, Blake, and a daughter, Samarah.

B*Witched plays Superboxx Festival today (Saturday 6 July) at Rochester Castle, Kent as part of a nostalgic day of pop and dance on the banks of the River Medway. Tickets are available from their website. Superboxx is part of a 3-day event at Rochester Castle Live which includes performances from UB40 Feat Ali Campbell and The Kaiser Chiefs across the weekend.