Steps star Claire Richards recalls being kissed on belly by crush Peter Andre
Claire Richards had a huge crush on fellow 90s star Peter Andre.
![Claire Richards had a huge crush on Peter Andre and wait backstage to meet him](https://images.bangpremier.com/articleimage/2023_08_25__bsalscplg_1692943773cropped2668x1734.webp)
Claire Richards has recalled the moment her "secret crush" Peter Andre "gave me a little peck on my tummy".
The Steps star, 46, was on tour with the 'Mysterious Girl' hitmaker, 50, in the 90s and would wait around backstage in the hope of bumping into him, and when she did, he allegedly kissed her on the stomach as she was wearing a crop top.
She recalled to new! magazine: "The last time I saw Peter properly was in the 90s. He won't remember this, but we were all on a Smash Hits tour and staying in the same hotel. I was in love with Peter, I really was," she says smiling. "He was my secret crush. But he was a few years older than me, so he probably thought I was just a kid.
"I used to wait backstage for him and hope he'd notice me, but he never did. In those days, I always wore a crop top and combat trousers. One day, I bumped into him in the corridor and he just bent down, gave me a little peck on my tummy and walked off."
Years later, the 'Stomp' hitmaker didn't have the guts to remind Peter of their encounter.
She added: "During the filming of 'Cooking With The Stars', we had some time to catch up and talk about the old days - but I didn't have the heart or the courage to remind him of that kiss!"
Claire - who released her second solo album 'Euphoria' in August - previously recalled how Steps were forced to re-wear the same stinky clothes every night on tour back in the '90s.
The singer - who is joined by Faye Tozer, Ian 'H' Watkins, Lisa Scott-Lee and Lee Latchford-Evans in the '5,6,7,8' group - recalled their broke days and not having the luxury of having someone to clean their stage outfits.
Appearing on the 'Scrummy Mummies' podcast, Claire recalled: “We didn’t have anyone to wash our clothes in the early days.
“We’d do three shows a day. My outfit was a red mesh top, long sleeves and red PVC trousers.
“You can’t wash those. I mean, you can sponge them.
“And even on mesh it doesn’t matter how many times you wash it, you can never quite clean it.
“We had to wear that for months because the record company would not buy us another outfit.
“I think I even wore it in our first video.
“It’s enough to make me retch, even now.”