Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan has bravely shared that she was kidnapped at the age of 16, just before she rose to fame with the British girl group. Now 41, Buchanan, who has been part of Sugababes since 1998, disclosed that the abduction occurred at the same time the band was gaining momentum and she was preparing to take her GCSEs.
A Traumatic Experience
“I had like this incident right before my GCSEs where I was kidnapped,” she revealed. “So, 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 like my education, but I just couldn't do my GCSEs.”
Speaking on the Live, Laugh, Luke... with Luke Hamnett podcast, she added: “The details I have to leave because one day it's going to be in my book. But I was basically taken after school by someone.” Buchanan explained that she “blocked out” the incident and focused on her career. “I think I just sort of blocked it and then had to just get back into, you know, promotion of our first single.”
Held for Hours
She was held for a few hours by her kidnapper and later needed therapy to cope with the trauma. “It was a few hours. So for a kid, you know, it's a long time.” When asked about therapy, she said: “Of course. I've actually been such an advocate of like therapy since I was 16, really.”
The ordeal led her parents to pull her out of school, and she never returned to take her GCSEs. While bandmate Siobhan Donaghty went back to school, Buchanan and Mutya Buena were not allowed. “We ended up leaving school. Siobhan went back to school to take her GCSEs and 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.”
Looking Forward
Despite past struggles, Buchanan is optimistic about the band's reunion. “Honestly, I feel like, and it sounds really cliché, 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.”
The Sugababes formed in the 1990s but have undergone several lineup changes. Siobhan left in 2001, Mutya in 2005, and they reunited in 2011. Former members include Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah, and Jade Ewen. Buchanan plans to release a book detailing her life story, including the kidnapping, the band's changing lineup, and her fight alongside Siobhan and Mutya to reclaim the band's name. She will also explore being forced out of the band at one point by former bandmates who wanted her replaced.
