Times have changed for Paul Cattermole.

As one seventh of pop sensations S Club 7, he was styled and preened to within an inch of his life.

Five years away from the limelight and he's back, slightly rounder, more relaxed, but the biggest shock to his fans will be his personal grooming. He's gone super hairy.

Thankfully it'll just be for a few hours a day and for his latest role. Paul, 30, is playing the part of the Prince turned Beast in Beauty and the Beast, coming to the New Empire, Southend, in August.

"I just wanted to find the inner beast in me," he smiles as way of explanation.

It's a role where he gets to be very unattractive and very scary. Worlds apart from his glossy pop past.

That journey began for him soon after graduating from top drama school Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London. What happened next was a whirlwind few years of television series, hit singles, sell out tours, and a Brit award.

Put together by Simon Fuller, the man who helped shoot the Spice Girls to superstardom, S Club 7 were a group of all singing, all dancing, all smiling youngsters plucked from obscurity.

Instead of simply launching them as a band, he capitalised on the pre-teen market by commissioning a fictitious television series about their rise to fame, set in various exotic climes including Miami, Los Angeles and Spain.

It worked. Miami 7 was first aired in 1999 and by the time they'd released their first single Bring It All Back their popularity was secured. The single went straight to number one and sold over 350,000 copies in its first month.

The television series and the hit singles continued and over the next few years the group had seven number ones including dance floor fillers Don't Stop Movin and Reach, which to this day are guaranteed to get people up and dancing at wedding discos.

In 2000 their arrival was confirmed with a Brit Award for Best British Newcomer. However, the gruelling schedule eventually got to Paul, who was the eldest of the seven.

In 2002 he announced he was quitting the group.

"There was no let up," he explains. "It was the kind of job you would never say no to and S Club was great fun and we had some brilliant laughs, but it made me not like pop music," he says. Instead he returned to the band he formed at school Skua, a nu metal outfit.

His bandmates continued as S Club for another year, but with Simon Fuller already promoting their more youthful replacements S Club Juniors, the band called it a day.

Paul's new musical direction failed to wow record company bosses and he's since split with the band. He has continued to work on his songwriting and is currently fronting another band called Charlie Bullitt.

Despite his early determination to leave pop behind, he says over time he's realised it's what he does best.

"Sometimes you have to go round the houses to realise what you want. I've written a lot of pop songs lately, and some of them are quite cheesy," he admits. "I've come back to pop and it's great.

"There are so many so called real bands out there that are as manufactured as we were but are pretending not to be. What's the point of that? "

There were rumours last year, around the time every pop band were crawling out of retirement in a bid to recapture their success in the way Take That had, that the group were considering a reunion. Something Paul denies.

"I don't know anything about that," he says. "But I would say if there is ever going to be one, which I wouldn't dismiss immediately, it's still probably too soon."

Until then you'll have to settle for Paul's new beastly side. The tour marks Paul's first theatre role since he left college.

"I can't wait. I'm looking forward to pleasantly surprising anyone that might doubt me. Because I will," he insists.

"You've got to believe in yourself in this game and I spent a long time not doing that."

Beauty and the Beast, New Empire Theatre, Alexandra Road, Southend, Thursday August 9 to Tuesday August 14, 01702 353577