Dusty Springfield was desperate to have children, The Searchers bassist Frank Allen claims

Recalling their baby conversation - which took place following an evening at London club Yours and Mine in the late 1960s - Allen exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "We left the club, but before we went our separate ways, she put her hand on my leg and she said, 'My baby clock is ticking and I'm getting very broody. I want to become a mother, and if we had a child it would be a very good looking child. A very good looking kid.' And at that point she actually put her hand in my groin and I was totally dumbfounded, I didn't know what to say but my mind was racing. I couldn't cope with this, I thought, 'I don't want to become a father, I can't be responsible for this.' "

Frank, 71, said he brought up the conversation with Dusty years later when she claimed she didn't recall it, although one of her close friends later informed him she did remember the incident but had been embarrassed by her actions.

However, Frank insists he only has fond memories of Dusty - whose legendary hits include 'Son of a Preacher Man', 'Wishin' And Hopin'' and 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' - who tragically passed away in 1999 aged just 59 following a battle with breast cancer.

He said: "Dusty was never a diva. Socially she was so funny, so entertaining. Dusty was such a laugh, we had such great times together."

Allen was speaking at a celebrity packed performance of the West End theatrical musical 'Dusty' at London's Charing Cross Theatre.