Almost fifteen years on from being part of the hugely successful pop group Atomic Kitten life is very different for Jenny Frost. Today Frost is living in Ibiza with her family, a music and television career behind her.
Frost chatted to OUTinPerth about her passion for World Vision, what it was like being in Atomic Kitten and why she loved being the host of the outrageous TV series ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’.
Jenny Frost joined girl band Atomic Kitten at the beginning of 2001 replacing original member Kerry Katona. A few days after she joined the band their four single ‘Whole Again’ became a massive hit.
The band re-recorded the single and included the new version on the re-release of their album. They’d go on to have another two number one hits in the UK and release three albums and a greatest hits compilation.
While many know Frost for her musical career and television appearances, she tells us that travelling to Africa with World Vision is something that left a lasting impression on her.
“I went to Zambia with World Vision, it was a few years ago now.” Frost shares, “It’s even more important to me now, now that I have children, it makes me even aware of what I saw there, how horrific it is and how much we all just take things for granted.”
“We’re so lucky to be born where we are born. On the trip I met children who were either born with HIV or have been orphaned through HIV and it was a really eye opening experience.”
“We went and visited their lives affected by HIV, one experience that really stood out was going to visit this young girl who had AIDS and had lost everyone she knew to it. She’d lost her mother and father to AIDS, she’d lost her uncle, and she’d lost her entire family to this disease.
“She stood there and she’d written a poem that she read out to us, but the poem was addressed to the disease, and it was just chilling. She was so powerful when she read it, she had so much conviction, she was rightfully angry.
Frost said the experience had made her re-access her own priorities.
“It really put things in perspective, you really want to just give yourself a massive upper-cut when you moan about things.”
Atomic Kitten continued to make recordings and appearances throughout the decade but both Frost and colleague Natasha Hamilton had started having children which curtailed their touring abilities. Frost found a new career challenge moving into the world of television.
For four years she hosted the outrageous television show ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’. The program took overly made up individuals and gave them a ‘make-under’ to show them their natural beauty.
When we confess that our favourite episode of ‘Snog, Marry. Avoid’ was one involving an over the top gay boy called Ross Frost exclaims “Scottish Barbie!” Clearly she knows exactly who we’re talking about.
“I’m still in touch with him,” Frost said. “He sent me a message a few months ago saying ‘Thank you so much I’m so much better after doing that show.’”
“He was absolutely terracotta!” recalls Frost of the young guys overdone make-up.
“The thing I loved about that episode was his relationship with his Dad who was this big burly ‘down the pub’ kind of Scottish guy and his relationship with his son who was just something else.”
Frost said one of the biggest challenges in doing the show was that there was so much content that couldn’t be used because of the show’s early evening timeslot in the UK. “There should have been a late night version,” Frost said.
Frost confesses that she doesn’t remember a lot of the things she experiences while in the top selling band.
“It’s such a blur, but I had a fantastic time.” Frost laughed. “I was so lucky and so fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to get the gig.”
“Looking back when your older you realise that some of the things you were moaning about back then really didn’t matter… I wish I’d appreciated it more at the time.” Frost said.
“Being a pop star – that’s a piece of piss, people who do thing like working in a hospital, that’s real hard work.”
Atomic Kitten reformed a few years ago and Frost decided not to be involved in the reunion, her spot was given to Kerry Katona, the singer she replaced.
Frost said that she is interested in writing songs for other artists, but as for her own singing career it’s definitely in the past. “My recording days are definitely over.”
Find out more about World Vision at their website.
