Geri to spice up next Popstars
Geri Halliwell is about to join the Popstars bandwagon.
The former Spice Girl is to sign a £550,000 contract to become a judge in the follow-up series.
The show will have a different format to the previous series and its spin-off Pop Idol.
It will embark on a search for two rival bands, one of girls, the other of boys, who will fight it out to secure a Number One record.
Pete Waterman, who starred in the recent Pop Idol series, which made stars of winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates, will be the other judge.
He and Miss Halliwell will each choose the members of their bands and launch them on the path to fame.
Miss Halliwell, 29, has spent the past year in Los Angeles after disappointing
sales of her second solo album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster.
She has spent the time writing a second instalment of her autobiography and contemplating her next career move.
"Geri is a perfect choice for the programme because she was a major part of the biggest and most successful girl band in the world," said an insider. "She is very excited about the project and the finer details of the contract are being thrashed out.
"It hasn't been decided whether she would head the girl band or the boy band, but whichever it is, she will help choose the members, and then launch them.
"Signing Geri will be such a coup for the programme because of her experience in the pop business and because of her celebrity.
"She's a real fighter so once she's chosen her band there's no doubt she will push them all the way. The bands will go head-to-head by releasing their singles on the same day so it will be very exciting."
Last night a spokesman for Miss Halliwell confirmed she had been offered the job, but said: "Nothing has been signed yet."
Popstars - The Rivals is expected to be seen in the autumn. Programme makers LWT are confident it will be a massive ratings success.
The original Popstars series, which featured judge 'Nasty' Nigel Lythgoe, was a huge success and produced the band Hear'Say.
The sequel, Pop Idol, searched for a solo star and featured presenters Ant and Dec as the sympathetic hosts.
It also featured a comeback by Popstars reject Darius Danesh, who made it to the final three contestants.
LWT said an announcement about the new programme, including the hosts, would be made in the next two weeks.
