Leeds-born actor and director John Simm shot to fame in the late 1990s as Danny Kavanagh in BBC drama The Lakes – but did you know the Grace star had a fling with Emma Bunton?
Lots of people watched The Lakes, including Baby Spice, aka Emma Bunton. Lucky for them both, as it led to one of showbiz’s more unlikely, albeit brief, romances.
It’s been a long time since Emma Bunton and John Simm hit it off. But that doesn’t mean their tryst should be relegated to the forgotten past…
How John Simm met Spice Girl Emma Bunton
Cast your mind back 25 years to the turn of the century.
Alongside his burgeoning acting career, John Simm was gigging with his rock band Magic Alex. He was a founding member, songwriter and guitarist with the group. They supported Echo & the Bunnymen on two tours and once shared a stage with New Order.
But Baby Spice wasn’t interested in all that. She was a John Simm mega fan – for his TV work.
One day, when John was rehearsing in the studio with his band, he visited the studio canteen to get a can of fizzy pop. And there she was, playing pool.
He was immediately stunned, the Mirror reported at the time. But he played it cool. Emma, on the other hand, brought her hands to her face and shrieked: “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
She was his biggest fan.
She was the ‘sweetest girl imaginable’ but John ‘couldn’t handle it’
John Simm wasn’t cut out for dating a Spice Girl, but he was pleasantly surprised by Emma Bunton’s wit and charm.
“I didn’t expect to like her at all, but she was the sweetest girl imaginable,” John recalled. “She was very funny and charming. And much cooler than I expected.”
On their first date, they went to a club and enjoyed some glasses of tequila. Emma’s chauffeur drove them home afterwards. But their romance didn’t last long.
“We just couldn’t go out because of all the attention Emma attracted. She couldn’t venture past the front door. She was a prisoner. She had lots of people around her, but she couldn’t do the most down-to-earth things. She lived in a bubble.
“If there is such a thing as being too famous, she was it. I never want to be in that league. I was really fond of her, but I just couldn’t handle it.”
End of the road
John also suspected that her managers put pressure on her to call it off. He’d just starred in Human Traffic, and had something of a “bad boy” image. Emma, on the other hand, had the opposite.
Someone leaked details of their brief relationship to the press. They disagreed on who. It ended in an argument.
Moving on
A few years later, John married actress Kate Magowan in the Forest of Dean. They’ve been together ever since, and have appeared alongside each other in four films.
Emma, meanwhile, has two kids with her husband Jade Jones.
ITV crime drama Grace returns for its fifth season on Sunday, April 6 at 8pm. It continues weekly.
Read more: Emma Bunton’s son Beau dating Strictly star’s daughter at 16
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