Michelle Christine Heaton (born 19 July 1979) is an English pop singer, actress and television personality. She was a member of the pop group Liberty X from 2001 until they announced their split in 2007; they reformed one year later for a small gig. In October 2012, it was confirmed the group would reform for a one-off appearance at the Hammersmith Apollo and feature in the ITV2 series The Big Reunion with other pop groups Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Five, 911 and Honeyz. Early life Heaton was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, on 19 July 1979. A former student of Emmanuel City Technology College in Gateshead and Newcastle College of Performing Arts, She began her singing career in the group Sirens in the late 1990s with other girls from the northeast of England. Music career While the five winning contestants of Popstars formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants formed the group Liberty. The name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom the members experienced following their participation in Popstars. Amidst pejorative media commentary (including the term "Flopstars"), the act proceeded to sign a multimillion-pound record contract with Richard Branson's independent record label, V2 records. Shortly after forming, Liberty received a legal challenge in the UK High Court from a funk R&B band, also called "Liberty", who achieved success in the 1990s, including being awarded Capital Radio Band of the Year, playing Wembley Arena, European tours and the release of albums in the USA, Europe and UK. The original Liberty claimed that the newly formed Liberty was taking advantage of the goodwill that had been created by the former's success (known in English law as the "tort of passing off"). The final judgment was in favour of the funk R&B band and the ex-Popstars then asked readers of The Sun to suggest a new name. The winning name was "X Liberty", but the group used the entry as the basis for the official title, "Liberty X". Liberty X enjoyed seven Top 10 singles from 2001 to 2005. Their biggest hit, "Just a Little", reached Number 1 in May 2002. "Thinking It Over", "Got To Have Your Love", "Song 4 Lovers", and "Holding on for You" all reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album, Thinking It Over, reached Number 3 in June 2002. Liberty X released another 2 albums, Being Somebody and X, which reached Numbers