Ian 'H' Watkins used to play cards with Britney Spears

Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the 2025 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar, in London on Wednesday (08.10.25), H said: "I spent a lot of time with Britney. She's gorgeous, really lovely, I mean its been a while since I've seen her but we had some really great times with Britney, she's such a fun girl.

"I used to travel a lot with her when we were on tour and we used to play cards, she used to meet me down at reception and she used to just pick my bags up and carry them to the airport, yeah she's lovely."

Asked about their card games, he added: "We usually played Snap, just like basic games, we were just very tired."

Meanwhile, with work underway on a Steps musical, the 5,6,7,8 hitmaker admitted he'd love to see their story hit the big screen too - and he wants The Mask actor Jim Carrey to play him.

He said: "We are currently in the middle of the Steps musical. So we are talking about that hitting the big screen, which is very exciting."

Asked who he would like to play him in a film, the 49-year-old star said: "Oh my god, you know it would have to be someone ridiculously goofy like... Jim Carrey."

Steps' Lisa Scott-Lee previously revealed H's friendship with Britney had caused tension within the band, branding his behaviour "diva-ish" because while the rest of the group were living on a tour bus during the tour, their bandmate joined the Toxic singer and her entourage on a private jet.

Speaking on the 2011 documentary Steps: Reunion, she said: "It got people's backs up."

Lisa also reflected on the divide during a more recent appearance on White Wine Question Time.

She said: "We toured America and Canada on that tour bus, that was our touring hotel.

"H didn't join us on the tour bus though - he was with Britney Spears on her private jet."

H insisted he only travelled separately because he struggled to sleep.

He said: "I suffered dreadfully with sleep - just hideously - and we were expected to sleep on this bus.

"It was a sleeper bus and it was horrendous, even for people that could sleep, so I made friends with Britney and Felicia, her PA, and Rob her bodyguard, and I ended up traveling a lot with Britney on her jet with her mum and her sister."

Asked if he had tried to get the rest of Steps on the plane too, H insisted it was "too small" to accommodate them all.