Five-star Ritchie Neville has revealed he was groped by a fan in her 30s when he was just 17 as he struggled with excessive attention during the band’s 90s heyday.
The singer, 45, was previously a member of the beloved boy band from its inception in 1997 until its split in 2001.
talking to the guardianRitchie shared that there was “no switch” when it came to Five’s enormous fame.
The star will appear in a BBC documentary titled Boybands Forever, which delves into the careers of 1990s and ’90s artists such as Take That, Westlife and Blue, and will air this weekend.
He then recalled a particular encounter with a fan, who was in her 30s, when he was only 17 or 18 years old.
Five-star Ritchie Neville has revealed he was groped by a fan in her 30s when he was just 17 as he struggled with excessive attention during the band’s 90s heyday.
The singer (pictured, second on the right) was previously a member of the beloved boy band from their inception in 1997, until their split in 2001.
‘While we were making the movie, she just grabbed me down there like I was perfectly normal. I said, “What are you doing?” It was one of numerous occasions in which he was groped, he says, sometimes while performing.
“The thing is, a lot of guys would say, ‘What I wouldn’t give for that!’ But it’s not always nice if you don’t ask for it. It’s like, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Please don’t do it again.” , said.
He went on to reveal that his lowest moment came when he contracted chickenpox while on tour with Five in Australia and New Zealand.
Although doctors advised him to go home for two weeks and rest, a representative from his record label told him: “Doctors exaggerate too much, don’t they?
‘In the end they didn’t give me a passport to fly home. (Bandmate) Scott had to come in, steal my passport, hand it to me and put me in a taxi at four in the morning.
“At the time I didn’t think much about it. Now that’s an invasion of power, isn’t it really? It’s almost a prison.
Louis Theroux’s documentary Boybands Forever, which delves into the careers of ’90s and ’90s artists such as Take That, Westlife and Blue, will hit screens later this month.
The three-hour episodes will follow the life-changing reality of stars who find fame at a young age, delving into topics such as drinking, drugs, fighting and exploitation.
Ritchie (seen far left) shared that there was “no off switch” when it came to Five’s enormous fame, and at one point it felt like “imprisonment.”
Louis interviewed the likes of Robbie Williams and Brian McFadden, as well as music label bosses Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh.
Speaking ahead of his boyband series, Louis said: “I couldn’t be more excited about this series. An epic story featuring an all-star cast and all-star creators, spanning three decades and involving some of the icons of modern British pop .
‘We see them through them, through their ups and downs, listening to the key players, as we chart the golden years of boybands.
‘How they came together, the experience of sudden fame, the opportunities and temptations that came their way, the conflicts within the groups, between the groups and between the boys and their managers.
“It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it’s not what you imagined, centered on a generation of young men and their managers, who were tremendously successful and also immensely vulnerable, having the best times of their lives and also in some cases fall apart.
“Those guys we all saw singing and dancing in tight formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle-aged men who have the time and maturity to look back and reflect about it. It’s taken us over a year to make the show. Now I’m excited for people to see it.”
