Pop quintet Steps are splitting up to pursue solo careers.
Faye, Claire, Lisa, Lee and H, who sold 12m records in their five years together, made the announcement today, ending weeks of speculation about the group's future.
"We have always said that when the time came, we would leave as good friends and go out while we were on top", they said in a joint statement.
Steps were formed following an ad in an entertainment magazine, but outlived their novelty status with 12 consecutive Top Five singles.
They recently picked up three trophies at the Smash Hits Awards and saw their greatest hits album enter the British charts at Number One.
