I CAN See Your Voice fans were stunned by a forgotten singer who almost won a Girls Aloud spot before being replaced.
Nicola Ward won a top 10 place on the ITV singing show in 2002, but was replaced by Nicola Roberts after quitting after an apparent row over pay.
Nicola blew fans away when it was revealed she could sing during the gameshow hosted by Paddy McGuinness where contestants have to guess correctly whether artists can sing or not.
After hearing her deliver a pitch perfect tune, fans flocked to Twitter to talk about the star who missed out on being in Girls Aloud.
One wrote: “WOW @SingerNicola was amazing on I Can See Your Voice.”
A second said: “WOW, Nicola Ward on I can see your voice, what a performance.”
While she was singing it flashed up on the screen in a fact box about her that she had been a contestant on Popstars: The Rivals.
Nicola quit Popstars: The Rivals in an apparent row over pay and was said to have said the £1,500 weekly wage for the winners was not enough and was branded “too cocky” by Pete.
Instead Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle and Sarah Harding formed the chart-topping line-up with hits including Sound of the Underground and Love Machine.
Years later Nicola said a controlling boyfriend had been behind her decision to quit.
She told Closer magazine in 2010: “He said, ‘it’s either me or the group, you’re going to have to make a decision because if you continue with this then I’m never going to see you and that’s it between me and you, it’s over’. And at the time, that was quite an ultimatum.”
Despite missing out on a place in Girls Aloud, Nicola still went on to join another girl band and now sings on cruise ships.
Meanwhile on the show Alison Hammond had I Can See Your Voice fans in hysterics as she revealed she was BABY SPICE in a Spice Girls tribute act.
The This Morning presenter, 46, proudly relived her days in a tribute band to the Spice Up Your Life hitmakers in her early days.
Alison said she was in the band while working in Tunisia.
She said: “I was Baby Spice, a lot of people thought I was going for a different Spice Girl but I went for Baby Spice.”
Jimmy Carr could not resist a joke and said she should have been Mel C.
The funnyman said: “What about Mel C? You’re Sporty but you went for Baby?”
