Sophie Ellis Bextor posted a message on her official message board to announce her pregnancy with boyfriend Richard Jones. Sophie said:

Hello everyone! I am so excited to let you know I am having a baby next year.

I am due in June and myself and Richard are really excited. I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know before it was published, but it came out a day early. Anyway, this is a really good thing and I’m sure you’re all right behind me. I’ll keep you up to date with how things are going…

I am still planning to keep working up until spring and obviously am intending to keep working once the tot is here but I guess this will take priority over all else. How lovely for me.

Mom Thrilled For Pregnant Sophie Ellis Bextor

December 3, 2003 - The Mirror spoke with Janet Ellis about the just announced pregnancy of her daughter Sophie Ellis Bextor with boyfriend Richard Jones. “There’s a family history for falling pregnant quickly. We’re all thrilled for her,” Janet said. “Sophie knows it’s the right thing, definitely, and she’s really happy. That’s one of the nice things - I don’t have any worries apart from the normal ones about wanting a healthy, lovely baby.” She added, “It’s been really hard to keep all this a secret and it’s a lovely Christmas present. Every time I walk past a toy shop or places selling small, knitted things, I have to go in.”

The Glasgow Daily Record reports dance act beauty Anne Mie Coenen has branded Sophie Ellis Bextor the biggest bitch in pop music. “When I duet with someone it has to be a nice person so that I can have a good time,” the 25-year-old remarked. “Sophie Ellis-Bextor is an unfriendly person and even looks unfriendly. Everyone in the music business tells me that she isn’t a very nice person, that she is the biggest bitch in pop music. I don’t like big heads and I don’t know why she thinks she is so great. There is no way I would duet with her.”

Sophie Ellis Bextor Fumes Over Removed Album Tracks

November 2, 2003 - Sophie has voiced disgust on her official website over two tracks being removed from the European release of her new album ‘Shoot From The Hip’. Getting the axe are ‘Making Music’ and ‘I Won’t Dance With You’. She told fans on her forum, “I hate the fact that the UK version has more tracks. I am contractually obliged to remove tracks for outside the UK. It is absurd to create an album then take away part of it. It’s something to do with royalties. I didn’t know they’d removed the hidden track too, though, cheeky morons. I am really sorry you are the ones who suffer.”

Sophie Ellis Bextor is on the cover of The Glasgow Daily Record’s 192 insert, and was asked about her newly blonde hairdo. “I think the wind changed,” she said. “It’s not a statement. I just got bored. I was a brunette for years I will go back to it, I like it best but I thought, let’s change. Last year I was a red-head.” She says she’s enjoying the new look and the attention it gets, but she admits it’s a “pain in the ass” having to always do the roots. But she dismisses claims she did the dye because she’s split up with long-term boyfriend and manager Andy Boyd, although she is getting more attention from men. She says, “I have had 500 people ask, ‘Do you have more fun as a blonde?’. Maybe it’s a bit naive, but I don’t feel like a different person.”

The Sun reports Sophie Ellis Bextor has revealed she auditioned for the role Nicole Kidman played in ‘Moulin Rouge’, but never got a callback. “I spoke to Baz and he also met with Natalie Imbruglia and Lauryn Hill,” she said. “I never heard anything, then the film came out. But I actually didn’t like the movie much. I don’t mean to be negative. Maybe if I had been in it I would have found a way to like it, but it’s not my thing really. I don’t want to do any acting now.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Enjoyed ‘The Kumars At No.42’

October 13, 2003 - Sophie spoke with Radio 1 about her appearance on ‘The Kumars at No.42’ that aired Monday night, an experience which she says she loved. “The good thing about that program is that the responsibility for it being funny isn’t mine, so all I had to do was sit there and laugh at the right moments, but they were so friendly, I felt right at home,” she said. “When you go on someone else’s program, you never know, they can really make you feel like an outsider, but it was totally the opposite and everybody on the program was really warm and I felt I’d go back!”

Sophie Ellis Bextor Rejects Celeb Party Lifestyle

October 12, 2003 - WENN reports Sophie has dismissed the celebrity party lifestyle as an “empty” experience, preferring to spend her time away from the limelight. “I just keep my head down. I don’t really play the game,” she explained. “I still have a healthy private life, go out to places that are quite quiet, I’m a domestic bod and like it to be steady. I’m actually quite intimidated by all that and I think it would send me mad if I really went for it. I flirted with it in the beginning but it’s really empty. That thing where you come away from a party or something and you feel like, ‘Uuuh, who have I been all night?’ And no-one’s really made you laugh or touched you in any way. Just makes you feel a bit scummy. If you don’t have close relationships with friends and family, it’s so easy to get lost.”

Sophie Ellis Bextor has revealed why she did the controversial ad for PETA where she’s shown holding a dead fox carcass. “I’m not a fashion fascist and if someone wants to wear it, they can,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “But surely they should question what they’re doing. There’s that famous quote about it takes 14 dumb animals to make a fur coat, but only one to wear it, and it’s true. A lot of people have forgotten it’s not OK to wear it because they are dictated to by designers. Fashion can get too big for its own boots.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Lashes Out At Fur Wearing Pop Stars

November 15, 2002 - Sophie, who recently featured in an anti-fur ad, attacked pop stars who wore fur at the MTV Europe Music Awards last night. “I think it is obscene and vulgar,” she told the Independent.

Sophie Ellis Bextor Thanks Fans For Single Support

November 12, 2002 - Sophie thanked fans for helping get her new single ‘Music Gets the Best of Me’ to debut at #14 in the UK charts. “Hello guys! I am so proud of you all. You have been so great about the single position and you’re right, of course, with all your comments,” she said. “The album is flying and I am very happy I released this song last as it’s one of my favorites. It is kind of the end of the Read my Lips era. The tour has become my new focus and I can’t wait to see you all there. I have started work on the new album and am very excited with the sounds and styles I’m experimenting with. I’ve got to go and decide what shoes to wear with my outfit for the MTV awards now. I’ll let you know how the awards went when I return! Oh, and just so you know, I am due to perform on Children in Need Friday night at about 12.30am.”

Sophie Ellis Bextor Set To Shock In Anti-Fur Campaign

November 12, 2002 - Sophie is appearing in a hard-hitting PETA advertisement attacking the fur trade, where she is photographed wearing a black evening dress, holding the dead body of a skinned fox. “I’m part of a generation that grew up with the ‘We’d rather go naked than wear fur campaign’ and it’s something that really struck a chord with me,” Sophie said. “To me it felt a very natural thing to do, to be on the side of animals when it came to fur.”

Sophie Ellis Bextor Says She’s Not Pregnant

November 10, 2002 - Sophie sounded rather upset after BIGTONE on her official website posted, “I just saw Sophie on ITV 1 The National Music Awards and shes got love handles. My god! She’s putting the weight on. Mark my words. I recon she’s pregnant.” Sophie responded, “Hello. Bigmouth by name, bigmouth by nature wouldn’t you say? I am not pregnant but even stranger than that, I am the same size as when all this began! I think it’s very dangerous to perceive boobs and curves as babies. However, I bet Bigmouth has the body of a god (not really). Don’t you girls?”

Sophie Ellis Bextor told fans on her official website that a recent ‘Rich List’ that placed her at #479 with estimated earnings of £1.6 million is “complete nonsense”. Sophie insisted, “That rich list write-up is complete nonsense. Every word.”

School Pupils Much Kinder To Sophie Ellis Bextor Now

November 7, 2002 - The Scottish Daily Record reports Sophie went back to her old school on Monday, and found out as a pop star she is Miss Popular. When she was a pupil, she was pelted with coins and bullied.

Sophie Ellis Bextor Steals Her Look From Fruit Bowl

November 5, 2002 - Sophie has confessed that at last week’s National Music Awards she stole netting from a fruit bowl to get her look. She told GMTV, “There was a fruit bowl with netting and a customized little bow, and that’s what I was wearing in my hair. It must be the Blue Peter streak in me.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor #14 Most Irritating

October 24, 2002 - The Mirror’s 3AM girls have listed Sophie as #14 on their list of the 100 most irritating people. They say readers “reckon the least she can do is a bit of dancing, but when the poor girl tries, she looks more like a convulsing chicken than an accomplished performer.” She wasn’t helped by a recent miming incident.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Furious At Technician Over Gaffe

October 20, 2002 - The Sunday People reports Sophie threw a bit of a tantrum at the European premiere for ‘Holiday On Ice’. Halfway through ‘Take Me Home’, a technician handed her a microphone. It made it look like she was lip synching the track. Bextor hit it out of his hand and then stormed off after the show.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor checked in with fans on her official forum last week and provided details on her new video, and new hair color. “Well I have dyed my hair red. I love it,” she said. “At first I went kind of Auburn, then for the video for the new song its very classic red and I’ve now settled for a raspberry/purple do. I am very happy with it. It is permanent dye. Dark brown is my natural state and I think it suits me the best but I’ve been that colour pretty much non-stop for yonks and I wanted a change. It’s a bit of fun.”

The full post at sophieellisbextor.net has since been removed.

New Sophie Ellis-Bextor Song Her Purest To Date

October 6, 2002 - Sophie reports on her official site that her new single ‘Music Gets The Best Of Me’ is set for a November 4th release. The single reunited Sophie with Gregg Alexander for her most enjoyable songwriting experiences to date. “We started with nothing, and two days later came out with a song. It’s probably the purest song I’ve done so far. It’s not flirty, it’s not tongue in cheek, it’s just completely uncluttered.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Fails In Bond Audition

September 29, 2002 - The Sunday People reports Sophie’s bid to play MI6 agent Miranda Frost in the new James Bond flick ‘Die Another Day’ failed. The part instead went to Rosamund Pike, 23, of BBC’s ‘Love In A Cold Climate’.

A fan quizzed Sophie Ellis-Bextor on how she keeps her skin looking so good. Sophie responded, “I am very lucky in that my skin is naturally clear and pale. I stay out the sun, don’t smoke and drink lots of water and since I was about 18 I hardly get any spots. I used to before that, though, so I really appreciate it now when I’m complimented on my complexion. I remember when I used to feel very self-conscious about it. It is true that they touch up stuff in pictures but I am lucky to have no scars and I hope it stays that way. There are other things that I have had touched up, I’m sure, but I’m not going to tell you what!”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Back From Trip To U.S.

September 7, 2002 - Sophie posted on her official message board yesterday in response to news that she’s starting to get some airplay on radio stations in the U.S. “I am just back in the UK following my first trip to meet my American record company,” she said. “It makes me very happy to hear how excited you all are about me in the US. It is so amazing to think of how far things have come within the last 12 months and I’m very proud of all my fans all over the world. I will keep you posted as to how it all progresses but must stress it is very early days and may take months before we see any results. Keep the faith!”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Gives Fans Update From The Road

September 3, 2002 - Sophie checked in with fans last month (August 23) during her promotional visit of Latin America. Sophie explained, “I am going to be in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, and I am hoping to stop off in New York for a couple of days on the way back too. It is pretty exciting to be able to travel to such interesting places. Despite that though, having spent so much time abroad this summer I am looking forward to returning home to London in the first week of September to spend some time working within Europe and promoting my next single, ‘Music Gets the Best of Me’, which is coming out in the UK on the 4th November.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Gives Her Opinion On American Pop

July 28, 2002 - Hera Diani of The Jakarta Post spoke with Sophie for her thoughts on American pop music. “I think American pop is, like, really slick,” she said. “American artists can spend two years on the development and get stuff right before they release it to the public. Whereas with English and European stuff it’s more like rough and ready. I quite like that (the latter). I like being distinct, I think it’s quite charming. Everything is like a little bit homemade. But on the other hand, English pop stars, all the boybands get fat after a year. While in America, they are always like, you know, muscley.”

As for the chances of her own success in the U.S., Sophie said, “I feel that I’m going to have success in America, but I may not succeeded in the whole of America. I think that’s a bit of a stupid attitude. It’s actually a bit greedy.”