Glittering star lit up pop world
SARAH Harding found fame the hard way, under the harsh glare of a TV talent show spotlight and illustrated her philosophy with a bold tattoo saying “don’t be bitter – glitter”. She turned knockbacks into positive learning experiences and when confronted with breast cancer discovered an inner strength to inspire others fighting the disease.
Born in Ascot, Berkshire, her father John Hardman was a session musician and a member of little known 1970s group Sunfighter.
She accompanied him at studios as a small child and loved to sing into microphones, but they became estranged in her teens after he split up from her mother Marie.
She later disowned Hardman in a letter and changed her name to Harding. However the domestic upset meant she left school at 15 with no qualifications.
Harding studied hair and beauty at Stockport College and had a succession of jobs, including Pizza Hut waitress and van driver to earn enough to sing in pubs and clubs.
Her big break came in 2002 when she was one of 10 girls chosen as finalists in the ITV show Popstars: The Rivals.
Making the grade along with Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle and Kimberley Walsh, the group Girls Aloud was formed and became a pop sensation, topping the charts with their first single Sound Of The Underground that Christmas.
Girls Aloud released five albums and had 22 top 10 singles.
Harding appeared in “lad mag” FHM and did lingerie modelling. She also got small parts in two St Trinian’s films and the BBC television film Freefall.
Despite her professional success, her private life was rocky and at one point she entered rehab.
Her relationships with US TV celebrity Chad Johnson and DJ Mark Foster, were chronicled in
gossip columns. She never married. When Girls Aloud broke up in 2013 Harding appeared in many reality shows, winning Celebrity Big Brother.
In her memoir Hear Me Out, she revealed she discovered a lump in her breast during the pandemic but was reluctant to seek help and took painkillers to dull the pain.
Following a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she said: “I’m just grateful to wake up every day and live my best life because now I know just how precious it is.”
Her mum said: “She was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered.”
Nicola Roberts added: “Electric girl, you made us.”