Sporty Spice angered by lesbian rumours

Spice Girl Melanie C has said that rumours she was a lesbian "pissed her off."

The singer, 33, was nicknamed 'Butch Spice' when the band split in 2001, after she put on weight and cropped her hair.

She was also dogged by rumours of an affair with her female assistant.

But the star - who has been dating "semi-professional beard" Thomas Starr for the past five years - insists they are nothing but cheap jibes.

Mel told women's mag Cosmopolitan: "At first that [the lesbian rumours] made me laugh because it wasn't something that ever crossed my mind.

"And then it kind of pissed me off when I thought, “Because I have short hair and am quite muscular with a few tattoos, am I the stereotypical lesbian?”

But she concedes that the rumours may have been beneficial to her solo career: "I don't think it did me any harm. I've always had a huge lesbian and gay following."