How does it feel to finally be making your West End debut in Hadestown, after City of Angels was cancelled due to Covid? LucyHampton6
Super exciting. It feels like I’m experiencing a new way of performing. I said to the director when we first started that I wanted to throw myself into this and to be pushed as far as I can. When you’re in a band, or you’ve been perceived a certain way for a very long time, it’s nice to go into something where you can shake off the Post-it notes that have been put on you by yourself, or by other people.

If there was to be a musical made with the Girls Aloud soundtrack like Mamma Mia!, or Here & Now, what do you think the plot should be? Sophieeh
Our experience of going from complete normality into a talent competition and becoming somewhat famous overnight, and then the trials and tribulations that follow with teenagers trying to navigate new national fame, is enough of a plot. I don’t need to drum up some new far-fetched stories, because I feel like the things that were happening were far-fetched enough.

How was it interviewing Lady Gaga? alexgibbon
It was an experience. My TV plugger was also Lady Gaga’s TV plugger and she had this thing lined up with MTV. The plugger, who’s very much a friend, was like: “It’s just a girly chat, would you be up for doing it?” I was still very much in my shell. I said: “If it’s a girly chat and a fun conversation, I would absolutely love to do it, but I’m not a presenter, so if it turns into that then it’s not gonna work.” Lo and behold, it turned into that. I was in the deep end with this global icon. She was lovely to me. It’s hilarious that it’s become this meme that pops up. [At one point Nicola asks Gaga to pick a dangerous thing she would do once with no risk, to which she replies: “Die.” Later Gaga says “the moon”, when asked if she could be anyone for a day.] I’m quite a literal girl, so when she’s saying “the moon”, I’m like, where the hell am I going with this? Where do I go next?

In Hadestown, what parts of Persephone’s character do you see in yourself? Sophieeh
The fact that she loves spring and she loves love. She loves to be lighthearted. I completely identify with her. In the past, people might say that I wasn’t lighthearted because of the circumstances I was in and the environment I was having to navigate: who is going to be lighthearted when they’re basically being bullied by the media? They’re not. It’s not normal to be like, sure, I’m going to come on to your radio show and act like we’re best friends and sell our song and stand for a picture when you’ve been bullying me. It’s just not natural. But I feel like my environment now is a lovely one.

A world with social media or a world without it, which do you choose? AmongstTheWaves
Growing up without social media, the artist didn’t have a platform to have their say, and so the media would be able to portray you in a certain way. They could just write any little clickbait story and get away with it. Whereas now with social media, I feel like it gives people the opportunity to say, actually, that’s not what happened. Or maybe see it from my point of view. But equally, I hear so often from younger artists who can’t focus on their craft because they’re constantly being told: “You need to do more TikToks.” So that’s another pressure.

What was your most chaotic backstage moment being solo or in Girls Aloud? Sharonteeny
We had a moment on this last tour where Sexy! No No No … basically wasn’t working until the first show. We were struggling with the inflatable skirts. They weren’t being put on in time. The crew weren’t quite making the fan cue. There was a conversation that happened where we thought about scrapping it. Somehow, the stars aligned and it just worked. Did my skirt ever deflate? Cheryl’s deflated. Mine went half up, half down.

What is the story behind the Sophie and AG Cook collab you did called Potion? SunnysideUp20
I was in the studio on a typical writing session and on the mixing desk they had this little figurine. I just Instagrammed it very innocently with the caption “Hey QT” [the title of Sophie and Cook’s 2014 single], like, that’s cute. Then there was a headline saying: “Nicola’s working with PC Music.” I wasn’t, I was just in some random session. But from that headline, AG Cook got in touch and was like: “Should we grab a coffee?” We met, talked about our approach to music and the state of what music was at that time. Then we got into the studio together. The very beautiful human that was Sophie was there plus a couple of other people. And we were just experimenting. I was just going from room to room and they had this track and we created Potion. That was that. Things just moved on. Maybe a year or so ago I messaged AG Cook and asked if they were doing anything with the song. He said that, obviously, all of Sophie’s music rights are with Sophie’s family now.

If Girls Aloud were to have an exhibition, what key pieces from your career would you have on display? AMac10
We should do a hair exhibition and have hundreds of wigs from throughout our career. You’d have short ones, pink ones, black ones, brown ones, blond ones, short hair, long hair. Is there a wig I regret? Oh, babe. There are many wigs I regret. I regret having brown hair. I regret having frazzled, tangled hair. I regret having almost black hair, purple hair. I regret experimenting. I absolutely love my red hair and I moved away from it because I felt like it was bothering certain people. So, to try to fit in I’d just have brown like everyone else, or I’d put highlights in.

Will we ever get to hear the Girls Aloud versions of Alesha Dixon’s The Boy Does Nothing, Annie’s My Love Is Better and Kylie’s Giving You Up [all created by Girls Aloud’s production team Xenomania and demo’d by the group]? MikeS88
I was in a shop and I remember hearing Kylie’s Giving You Up and freaking out for a split second, being like: what the hell, how has someone got this? And then realising, no, no, it’s Kylie’s version. But I feel like that song is Kylie’s song now. You make a song your own: The Boy Does Nothing is Alesha’s song. While a listener would love to hear a different artist doing it for their own entertainment, for the artist it becomes your baby.

Why has there never been a follow-up to [2011’s solo debut album] Cinderella’s Eyes? splazsh
There have been moments where I’ve started a project, but then just moved on quickly, creatively. I’m sure that the right time will come, and I’m totally open to it. But when I got on the circuit of writing for other artists, I wasn’t necessarily inspired. There was a theory of: write for other artists and then one song will pop up that you’ll just want to keep for yourself. But I never came across any producers that were willing to experiment because it would always be following a brief. That’s why I loved PC Music – there were no rules to it.

How serious were you about working with Kate Bush on Cinderella’s Eyes? MrRaysWigworld
It was just a huge pipe dream. I would drop everything and fly to wherever she was in the world for us to collaborate and make my version of Running Up That Hill. I’d just be ultimately satisfied for life.

What is your favourite song to sing in Hadestown? Sophieeh
There’s a song called How Long?, which is a duet between myself and Hades. It’s intense, but the melody is really beautiful. I also sing a song called Our Lady of the Underground. Do I ever accidentally sing Sound of the Underground? No, because this is American folk and New Orleans jazz, not frenetic drum’n’bass – but every now and then in the rehearsal room, I’ll add a little trill and they’ll be like, nope, that’s not what the melody is.

Have you noticed a difference rehearsing in a theatre setting compared with your previous Girls Aloud rehearsals? Sharonteeny
In the Girls Aloud setting, we have more tea breaks. The theatre setting is a little bit more professional. With Girls Aloud, you’re very much playing the bigger version of yourself. You’re engaging directly with the audience constantly and you’re feeding off their energy. Whereas with Hadestown, this is me fitting into a cog and I have to portray my part of the story. It’s like rubbing the belly and patting the head.

It feels as though there is currently a welcome profusion of female solo artists. Who do you most rate and why? CatzPyjamas
I’m loving watching what Jade is doing. I wanted to do something different [with Cinderella’s Eyes] and I wanted to experiment. It’s really refreshing to watch her have that similar approach and navigate the line of: what can I get away with, and how can I experiment but equally still have it sound current?

What does the future hold for Girls Aloud now that the reunion tour has finished? JosiahLumumba
We all had a really amazing time together and it was so heartwarming to feel the support that we came back to. It really surprised us. And it surprised us how much we came together as women and where we’re at now. Back in the day, it would be like: “OK, we’ve just done a tour, now we’re gonna do this and we’re on a roll.” Everybody’s got different responsibilities now. But I think that it would be lovely to be back on stage again with the girls at some point.

• Nicola Roberts starts her run in Hadestown on 16 September at the Lyric theatre, London