Melanie Chisholm and daughter Scarlett

Melanie Chisholm has said that her fellow Spice Girls have been giving her plenty of advice about being a celebrity mum.

Melanie gave birth to daughter Scarlett last month, following in the footsteps of her bandmates who have seven children between them.

Mel told the People newspaper: “All of us, apart from Mel B, who’s still in Los Angeles, had dinner just a few weeks ago.

“They all had lots of advice for me. Especially about how to cope with being a new mum who also happens to be in the public eye. That’s something my other friends and relatives - even my mum who I’m incredibly close to - don’t know so much about.

“They warned me about how protective I was going to feel and advised me to just try to keep my cool and stay calm. Although, to be honest, sometimes the attention of the paparazzi can be quite frenzied and aggressive so I don’t know how I would react to that.

“The truth is that I don’t want to get into a situation where I feel that my privacy is being invaded or my baby is being threatened on any level at all.

“So my advice to the paparazzi would be for them to keep their distance at the moment because they don’t want to be messing with a new mum, do they?”

“I hope now I’ll be given the space to enjoy just being a mum for a while.”

Before confirming her pregnancy last year, Mel had frequently denied that she was joining the other women in the Mum-club but added the time just finally “felt right”: “Like a lot of women my age, the body clock was ticking and I got seriously broody.

“Luckily I got pregnant straight away. [Boyfriend] Tom was fantastic and totally supportive from the very start.

“Even on those few off days when I felt rubbish and bloated, he was great. He made me feel totally loved and secure.”