Sugababes star Keisha Buchanan has revealed she was kidnapped and held captive for several hours when she was just 16 years old. The singer, now 42, shared the traumatic experience on the Live, Laugh, Luke… with Luke Hamnett podcast, explaining that the incident occurred as the band was starting out.
Kidnapping Before GCSEs
Keisha recalled being snatched after school around the time of her GCSE exams. 'I had this incident right before my GCSEs, where I was kidnapped,' she said. 'Because it was quite a traumatic experience, my parents were like, “Yeah, so we’re going to do a different type of education”. So I kind of finished my education, but I just couldn’t do my GCSEs.'
The About You Now singer described being held captive for hours, which felt like an eternity for a teenager. 'It was a few hours. So for a kid, you know, it’s a long time,' she added. She blocked out the memory initially but later sought therapy to process the ordeal, becoming an advocate for mental health.
School Rejection After Fame
Keisha also revealed that after the kidnapping, she and bandmate Mutya Buena were denied re-entry to their school, while Siobhán Donaghy was allowed back. 'They accepted her back. When Mutya and I tried to get back, they were so rude. They were like, “Oh no, no, no, you’re not coming back. Like you guys thought you were going to be these pop stars. Let’s see what’s going to happen.” So they wouldn’t accept us back,' she claimed.
Sugababes Journey and Future Memoir
Keisha plans to share more details about the kidnapping and the band's infamous lineup changes in a forthcoming memoir. The original trio—Keisha, Mutya, and Siobhán—reunited in 2012 under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan, signing a £1,000,000 deal with Polydor Records. Nearly a decade later, they reclaimed the Sugababes name and have been touring again, including performances at Glastonbury and Mighty Hoopla.
Reflecting on her survival, Keisha said: 'Honestly, I feel like, and it sounds really cliche, but I do feel like it’s by God’s grace. I genuinely feel that way because the things that have happened to us behind the scenes that no one even knows, like being kidnapped, I feel like there were so many things that have happened that really, some of us shouldn’t have even survived and we’re standing today.'
