NHS worker reveals she was in the Spice Girls lineup before being replaced by Victoria Beckham

‘In a different life I could have been married to a footballer!’ NHS worker says she was in the original Spice Girls lineup before being swapped out for Victoria Beckham

NHS worker Mel Caloma revealed on Thursday that she was in the original Spice Girls line up before being replaced by Victoria Beckham

Mel was in the girl group when they were first put together in 1994 but was swapped out for Posh Spice because her voice was ‘too strong’. 

The 41-year-old from Cambridgeshire told the Mirror: ‘I had no idea then how close I’d come to being in the biggest girl group of all time.’  

Nearly spice: NHS worker Mel Caloma from Cambridgeshire revealed on Thursday that she was in the original Spice Girls line up before being replaced by Victoria Beckham

Mel said in the candid interview: ‘In a different life I could have been married to a footballer, dressed in designer clothes and jetted all over the world. 

‘I had no idea then how close I’d come to being in the biggest girl group of all time.

‘I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times I wished I could have traded places with [Victoria].  As a singer, it did make me laugh when she said they sometimes turned her mic off,’ she added.  

Wannabe: Mel was in the girl group when they were first put together in 1994 but was swapped out for Posh Spice because her voice was 'too strong' (pictured Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell together in 1996)

Wannabe: Mel was in the girl group when they were first put together in 1994 but was swapped out for Posh Spice because her voice was ‘too strong’ (pictured Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell together in 1996) 

Mel explained that although it was sometimes hard not to dwell on the past, she didn’t resent Victoria.  

She claimed she has come to terms with being ousted from the group by realising Victoria and her fellow bandmembers Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell were picked for their looks.  

18-year-old Mel was first selected for the band when she responded to an advert in The Stage looking for singers and dancers.   

'I had no idea then how close I’d come to being in the biggest girl group of all time': Mel claimed she has come to terms with being ousted because the girls were picked for their looks

‘I had no idea then how close I’d come to being in the biggest girl group of all time’: Mel claimed she has come to terms with being ousted because the girls were picked for their looks

She was one of 400 hopefuls to audition for the gig and impressive scouts by belting out And I am Telling You I’m Not Going. 

Mel was selected to become part of the girl group, then called Touch. 

The teenager then set to work learning choreography and rehearsed alongside Mel B.  

Shock: It was only when she saw Mel B's face in the Wannabe music video that the NHS worker realised the fame she'd missed out on (pictured: Spice Girls in 1996)

Shock: It was only when she saw Mel B’s face in the Wannabe music video that the NHS worker realised the fame she’d missed out on (pictured: Spice Girls in 1996) 

But the blossoming pop star was plunged back into obscurity when managers decided her voice was ‘too strong’ for the girl group. 

It was only when she saw Mel B’s face in the Wannabe music video that the NHS worker realised the fame she’d missed out on. 

Mel confessed she thought the song was awful but said she would have performed the hokey cokey if it would make her millions of pounds. 

Not impressed: Mel confessed she thought the song was awful but said she would have performed the hokey cokey if it would make her millions of pounds (Spice girls in 1996 )

Not impressed: Mel confessed she thought the song was awful but said she would have performed the hokey cokey if it would make her millions of pounds (Spice girls in 1996 ) 

Rather than shooting to global stardom, Mel took a job at a hospital in Huntingdon and now lives in a semi-detached house with her husband and their two children in Cambridgeshire. 

Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham married her football superstar husband David and has a shared net worth of £500million. 

While the Spice Girls have sold out stadiums across the globe, Mel has taken to the stage in pubs and at weddings in a band called The Decanters with her brother.   

'In a different life I could have been married to a footballer': The NHS worker said she didn't resent Victoria but found it hard not to compare their lives

‘In a different life I could have been married to a footballer’: The NHS worker said she didn’t resent Victoria but found it hard not to compare their lives