5 things happening in UK 2002 when Girls Aloud first formed - TV, film, politics, the Royals, music

With the news that Girls Aloud are getting the band back together again and heading out on tour next year, it's got us feeling all nostalgic.

It's hard to believe, but it's been more than 20 years since the girl group first came on to the music scene and dominated the charts. The group were put together in 2002 as part of a reality TV talent contest called "Popstars: The Rivals", going on to win the show.

So, as Girls Aloud were celebrating their win and their first single, Sound of the Underground, boomed out of the bedrooms of pre-teens and teens countrywide, what else was happening in the UK? Here we take a look back at five other things that were happening at the same time. Prepare for a stroll down memory lane. . .

The Royals

2002 was a pivotal year for the royal family. On a happy note, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years on the throne. The ocassion was marked with large scale events in London, including The Prom at the Palace which saw 12,500 people invited to attend an evening of classical music in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. There were also street parties held up and down the country.

But the year was also a difficult one for the now late Queen, as both her mother and sister died. Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, died on February 9 at the age of 71 after suffering a stroke. Then, little more than a month later, on March 30, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, died aged 101 at Royal Lodge, Windsor.

Politics

Tony Blair was prime minister in 2002, heading up a Labour government. We didn't know it at the time, of course, but New Labour would have another five years in power with Blair's premiership running from 1997 to 2007.

A lot of new laws came in to effect with Blair at the helm this year. The Employment Act 2002, for example, extended rights to paternity, maternity, and adoption leave and pay, while the Police Reform Act 2002 established community support officers and reorganised national intelligence gathering. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 enabled unmarried couples to apply to adopt while speeding up adoption procedures, and the Private Hire Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs) Act 2002 banned charges for guide dogs in minicabs.

The Travel Concessions (Eligibility) Act 2002 also equalised the age at which men and women become entitled to travel concessions and, under the Homelessness Act 2002, councils had to adopt homelessness strategies and do more for those left without a home through no fault of their own. The English Democrats were also established in 2002.

TV

In TV land, Sky News content became available on terrestrial television for the first time in January 2002, and later that same month ITV2 was launched to replace UTV2. One month later, two new BBC children's channels, CBeebies, which is aimed at children under six and CBBC, aimed at children aged six to 12, were launched. Channel 4 also celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Over on MTV, The Osbournes, a US reality television series about heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family, made its British television debut, giving the channel a record audience of 500,000 viewers. Kate Lawler took the crown in another reality TV series, Big Brother, becoming the show's first female winner. The first series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! also began on ITV.

It was a big year in the world of soaps too. Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks set a new world record for the longest on-screen kiss at three minutes, fifteen seconds. The kiss was between Sarah Baxendale who played Ellie Hunter and Marcus Patric who played Ben Davies. There were also many memorable storylines that ran throughout the year including the Richard Hillman murderer storyline in Coronation Street and the marriage of June Brown and Jim Branning on Valentine's Day in Eastenders.

Film

November 2002 saw the 40th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise with the 20th film released in British cinemas. At the same time, actor Pierce Brosnan bowed out as 007 in Die Another Day having appeared in four films in seven years.

Many films which have since become cult classics were released in the same year, including About a Boy and Bend it Like Beckham. It was also the year the second film from the renowned Harry Potter franchise was released; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Music

Girls Aloud were not the only singers who were introduced to the world in 2002. Another reality series aimed at finding Britain's next big music talent, Pop Idol, came to it's conclusion, with Will Young taking the title and Gareth Gates coming in second.

But while some music careers were just beginning, others were evolving. Kym Marsh, lead singer of Hear'say - a pop group formed on the predecessor to the show where Girls Aloud found fame, Popstars, in 2000 - announced that she was leaving the band. Auditions were held to find her replacement and a month after her departure it was announced that Johnny Shentall was the new lead singer.