Kimberley Walsh has revealed that grieving her late Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding is a “daily challenge”.
The singer will take part in a 5km event alongside fellow bandmates Cheryl, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts in honour of Harding.
The Race For Life For Sarah event, which is taking place on Sunday (24 July) in London, aims to celebrate Harding’s life and raise money for breast cancer.
She died aged 39 last September after revealing she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which spread to other parts of her body.
Speaking on Tuesday on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Walsh and Roberts reflected on the “daily challenge” of grieving the loss of their friend
Walsh said: “It’s crazy to me to think that it’s almost been a year. In September, it’s coming up to a year.
“It’s a daily challenge, let’s put it that way, and I think it throws you at the times that you don’t expect it.”
The singer reflected on the things that make her emotional, which can be anything from a song to a plate of food.
However, she added she does find comfort in them as she does not want to lose these memories of Harding.
Roberts agreed that Harding’s death is “still a shock” to the group and said: “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.”
The former members previously said they did not feel comfortable celebrating Girls Aloud’s 20th anniversary this year, but Roberts noted that the charity run was a good place for them to come together.
She said: “I think for us, we really felt so uncomfortable to do anything in terms of a performance or an event in that way without her, that just doesn’t feel OK to us, and so this was the perfect opportunity for everybody to come together for Sarah, so it is in her memory, which she wanted us to do.”
Roberts, Cheryl and Coyle will run together in Hyde Park while Walsh will take part remotely, explaining that she is out of London over the weekend.
Walsh said that raising money for cancer research was one of Harding’s last wishes.
“I’m kind of looking forward to feeling a little bit closer to her in that moment,” she added.
“I know that sounds strange but there are these moments that happen still where I suddenly just feel close to her again and I just love that and I cherish those moments.”
Additional reporting by PA
