Steptacular!

In fact it was a "Steptacular" weekend altogether for Rebecca who is now officially recognised as Steps' number one fan.

It was all made possible by her best friend, Laura Norris, who wrote to BBC1's Saturday morning show Live and Kicking telling them how Rebecca, of Knowles Street, is a huge fan of Steps.

Rebecca's mum, Julie, said: "I got a phone call from the producer last Thursday telling me that Steps would like to come and visit Rebecca. I thought it was a wind-up at first."

"I was sworn to secrecy, which was pretty difficult. They told me to make sure Rebecca answered the phone when they called her live on air on Saturday morning."

Stunned Rebecca was in shock when presenter Steve Wilson phoned to tell her the good news.

The rest of the day was a blur as the frantic family tidied-up the house in anticipation of the visit.

By Sunday word had spread and fans thronged the street outside eagerly awaiting the group's arrival.

And the pop stars didn't disappoint. "They were all so lovely and friendly, giving us kisses and cracking jokes. Before they arrived I wondered what to say to them, but they were so chatty I hardly got a word in," said Mrs Watson.

While Faye, Claire and Lisa took the girls up to Rebecca's bedroom to give them a make-over, H was rolling on the dining room floor with Polly the dog and Lee was brewing cups of tea for everyone.

"They liked playing with Rebecca's pet rats, Honey and Mizzi, but I don't think Lisa was too happy when H dropped one on her," laughed Mrs Watson."

After tucking into cakes, which Rebecca had made especially for them, the famous five encouraged the family to join in an impromptu dance routine in the lounge to their hits Tragedy, One For Sorrow and Better Best Forgotten.

They gave the girls free CDs, mouse mats and T-shirts before they left through the backyard and down the back alley to escape being mobbed by fans.

But the fun didn't end there. Rebecca and Laura had got tickets for the group's concert at the MEN Arena later that night and afterwards they got an exclusive invite to meet up with the band backstage.

"It was all so good. I've been a fan of theirs since they started out, I love their music," said Rebecca.

In fact the excitement was all too much for her and she had to miss going to Gorsefield CP School on Monday because she had such a headache!

Pictured at a backstage reunion are (back, from left) Laura's mum Tracey, Faye, Rebecca's dad Stephen, Laura's dad Gordon, Claire and Lisa. At the front are (from left) Laura and Rebecca.

You can see a mini documentary of Steps' visit to Radcliffe on Live And Kicking on Saturday.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.