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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Julia Hunt & David Kent

Girls Aloud members say tragic death of Sarah Harding is still 'raw' as they pay emotional tribute to 'firework'

Two of Sarah Harding's bandmates in Girls Aloud have said the tragic death of their friend is still "raw".

Harding was just 39 when she passed away in September of last year after a terminal breast cancer diagnosis in August of 2020. There was a widespread outpouring of grief and tributes from friends, fans and former colleagues rolled in after the sad news broke last autumn.

Her bandmates Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts, Cheryl and Nadine Coyle are getting together this weekend to take part in Race For Life in her memory and have predict it will be "magical".

READ MORE: Nadine Coyle believes she received signs from late Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding whilst filming new RTE show

Sarah Harding (Getty Images)

Speaking to Zoe Ball on BBC Radio on Tuesday, Nicola said that her death was "still a shock"

"You kind of go back to when it was the five of us and never in your wildest nightmares could you ever have imagined that it would have gone this way," she said.

"My sadness is for her. My sadness is the fact that she doesn't get to be here, that's where my sadness is."

British pop girl group Girls Aloud, circa 2002; they are Kimberley Walsh, Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts. (Getty)

Kimberley said the grief was a "daily challenge".

"We spoke to Sarah a lot in those last few months, as much as we couldn't bear to have these conversations, we had to because we felt so helpless and we were like, 'What do you want, what can we do?' and this (the Race for Life) was her wish.

"She really really wanted us to try and raise as much money as we could for research, especially in young women.

"It feels like it's still so raw to us," she added.

Cheryl Cole and Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud perform at Wembley Stadium (Getty)

The pair said that Sarah was "a firework".

Last year, Nadine opened up on how "awful" life had been since the passing of her former bandmate.

Speaking on the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTE Radio One in October at the same time she was shooting 'Last Singer Standing', Nadine said: "It feels like it's been a really traumatic year and a half, almost two years at this point now.

"It's just, it's a cruel, cruel disease and I know many people suffer with it and I wish everybody all the best. We definitely lost a great one there.

"She was unbelievable. Me and Sarah have been close and always remained close. We were a great support for each other in the band and for years after."

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