The 33-year-old singer is now a dedicated mother to 17-month-old son Beau and has no time to be Baby Spice anymore.

"Being a parent, ahhh, it changes EVERYTHING in your life" she exclaims, holding up her hand to show a tattoo of Beau's name in italics on the inside of her right wrist.

"Your whole focus. My whole focus is on my little boy. He is the best thing I've ever done. He's just wonderful, and whatever I can do, I want him to be as healthy as possible."

Emma is still the wholesome, down to earth woman of her Girl Power days, and reveals she is following a realistic routine to keep her curves in check as a busy working mum.

"I think there is a big pressure on how you look in the industry and it is scary," she admits.

"But I think the good thing, well I hope, that people see me is that I'm a very normal girl. I have got curves. I'm not really a yo-yo, I never go really up or really down and I just keep it balanced."

Emma also admits that becoming a mother has made her more health conscious, which is why she is currently fronting the Hovis Wholemeal Challenge and encouraging the British public to swap white bread for wholemeal.

"It was something I'd done myself recently when I was pregnant with Beau" she says.

"It's such a small thing that you can change that makes such big differences.

"I'd changed over to wholemeal because I was pregnant and now it's lovely because Beau is eating wholemeal as a baby."

"You feel fuller for longer and you don't snack as much.

"I'm a big old snacker. That really changed for me as soon as I was having wholegrains for breakfast. I wouldn't want anything then until lunch whereas before I'd be at the biscuits and another cup of tea.

"It's important for my family - I want my family to be healthy too."

Emma's boyfriend, 28-year-old Jade Jones, is now a chef. While she she enjoys the former Damage singer's talent for cooking, she has to be careful of the rich food he makes.

"He loves his pasta! And I do have that now and again, but he's really good with fish and vegetables and meat.

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Don't put any butter in mine!' But obviously I love him to do his thing and he's a great chef. He understands the health side of things and because he cooks for Beau as well we don't tend to put lots of butter and things in our food, especially if he's blending it up for little Beau afterwards.

"I feel so lucky, because I'm NOT a cook. I mean, the best thing you're going to get out of me is a good cheese on toast. So thank the Lord for Jade. He's brilliant and I get fed and Beau gets fed. He does cook all day and come home and cook. He's brilliant like that."

And though the family has an extra mouth to feed, Emma doesn't find herself having to persuade Beau to eat healthy food.

"I'm very lucky because he's a good little eater, he likes his food.

"I think it's about trying different things and whatever you're eating as well

"We love to sit together. I think that's a big part of getting children to enjoy dinnertime, sitting together, eating together. He likes to try things that might not be on his plate that might be on mine. So we all share and that's important in getting children to eat I think."

While her former bandmates have battled eating disorders and are famous for trying fad diets, Emma insists she has always been sensible with food and didn't feel pressured to lose her baby weight immediately.

Even so, she admits it was hard to go straight on the road with the Spice Girls reunion tour.

"It was literally eight weeks after I had Beau. I went back on the road with the girls and that was hard. I don't know if I'd do it again.

"Obviously every woman, straight after having a baby you feel quite self-conscious and it was difficult but again I just had to.

"Actually someone came up to me because I was feeling a little bit down and said 'Listen, you've just had a baby, you're a normal girl, you're back on tour, enjoy it'. And I thought, yeah I'm going to enjoy it, I'm getting back in shape by being on tour which is great."

It might have been difficult at the time, but Emma has no regrets.

"I was so lucky with Beau. He sleeps so well, I had Jade with me the whole time, my mum was around. So we just kept it very tight, we had our family there and that was really important and I'd just go on stage for a couple of hours a night.

"It was great fun! It was the best time actually to be able to go on stage with my friends and act like a child and run around on stage and then come off and act like a mother. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me, I had the best time."

Now the Spice Girls have all gone their separate ways again, Emma is not planning on following Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Victoria Beckham to Los Angeles, where they've been pursuing their solo careers.

"I've spent some time out there and I do enjoy it, I've got friends and the whole lifestyle is amazing, the weather is beautiful. Beau loved it out there as well but for me there is no place like home," Emma insists.

"I love being around my family. Beau has his grandparents here, and also it's all a bit more real for me. In LA you feel like you're living on a film set 24/7 it's all a bit mad. Here I feel I'm at home and around people I love so I wouldn't move."

Emma is hanging up her microphone for now, but says it won't be forever.

"Obviously music is my first love, always will be," she says.

"Me and Jade and Beau are always dancing around the kitchen like nutters with music blaring. I love it. And I would never say no. I'd love to do music again and some point, I just think with wanting to be at home with Beau and stuff, the TV for me just feels really comfortable. I love it, it's new, it's a challenge. So I'm just trying a different route at the moment."

She's has already appeared on Richard & Judy, Loose Women and X Factor, and Emma reveals she wants to relaunch the acting career she had before the Spice Girls.

"I'm doing bit of TV now which actually really good fun. I love being at home in the UK. I'm a London girl through and through but doing some TV just felt really comfortable and natural and I really enjoyed it.

"I would LOVE to more acting but that is going to take me some time because I want to make sure it's right and the right part and everything."

Even if her dream role appeared, it's clear that family now comes first.

"I'm just really enjoying this time with Beau at the moment but yeah, I'd love to have another one. Absolutely."

Emma Bunton turned 33 on January 21. Jade Jones turns 29 on February 12