Mel C claims Mel B bullied her while they were in the Spice Girls

Melanie Chisholm has claimed that Melanie Brown bullied her during their Spice Girl heydays.

The former Spice Girl, known as Mel C or Sporty Spice, has spoken frankly about her time in the iconic girl band, admitting that she maintained a restrictive diet and excessive exercise regime while in the band, suffered with depression after the group's unofficial split and didn’t socialise because she “didn’t want to eat in front of people”.

Although Chisholm has previously referenced being bullied whilst in the band, stating in a 2016 interview that she was unprepared “to name names", that the issue had been addressed and that the person responsible had “apologised”.

The star sang about being bullied on her 2016 album Version of Me and spoke of letting someone “sh*t on” her. ​When asked in an interview with The Guardian if the perpetrator was Mel B, Chisholm nodded.

The "Never Be The Same Again" singer also admitted that five months before the band launched in 1996, she nearly got expelled from the group after getting “a bit lairy” and telling Victoria to f*ck off”: “‘I upset her, and I was told that if that behaviour ever happened again, then’ – she makes a guillotine gesture.”

Following the incident, Chisholm said that staying quiet was the "key to an easy life" in the Spice Girls, describing herself as a people-pleaser.

The 45-year-old revealed that she grew up in “a really quiet household” and hated confrontation.

Although the women were “well cared for” whilst in the band, Chisholm said that she entered “survival mode”, spending three hours every day exercising and existing on steamed vegetables and fruit.

“My life was out of control and the only thing I could control was how much I ate and how much I exercised,” she admits.

“One of my biggest regrets is that there were years when I wouldn’t socialise because I didn’t want to eat in front of people. I just think: ‘Cor, what a waste of life.’”

Following the band’s official split result, Chisholm became depressed, prompting her to access a therapist, who she still sees every week.

The singer and songwriter has a healthier attitude towards exercise, but rejects the idea that women who love exercise must be unhappy with their bodies: “I love trying to better myself, trying to be faster, stronger, hold a note for longer,” she said.

Chisholm cites her 10-year-old daughter, Scarlet, and recent work with the queer drag collective Sink the Pink as key factors in eroding her self-doubt.

“Sometimes I feel I’m not enough, I’m not outspoken enough, I’m not funny enough, I’m not good enough,” she admits, before rejecting this judgement as “bullsh*t”.

“I am enough. I’m doing this incredible thing and I’ve had this incredible career: it’s time to really accept every little bit of me, even the shit bits,” she says.

Describing her daughter as her teacher, Chisholm said that she has helped her “realise the things I would sometimes allow to happen to me, I would not have happen to her. She’s given me a lot more courage to treat myself better.”