1999–2007: Liberty X and hiatus In a 1999 Pietersen starred the musical
Gigi as the title role. In 2001, Pietersen auditioned for the
ITV reality television music competition
Popstars, a show intended to form a new group from individual contestants, becoming one of the finalist. While the five winning contestants formed
Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants – Young,
Tony Lundon,
Kevin Simm,
Kelli Young and
Michelle Heaton – formed the group
Liberty X and signed a multimillion-pound record contract with
Richard Branson and
V2 Records. Liberty X released three studio albums and enjoyed seven Top 10 singles from 2001 to 2005: Their biggest hit, "
Just a Little", reached number one in May 2002; "
Thinking It Over", "
Got to Have Your Love", "
Song 4 Lovers", and "
Holding on for You" all reached the top 5 in the
UK Singles Chart. They split up in 2007 after selling over 3 million records worldwide. During this time, Pietersen also appeared on
BBC's
Strictly Ice Dancing in 2005, finishing in second place, and
Dancing on Ice in 2009, finishing in third place. After the split, Pietersen took a long hiatus from her artistic career.
2013–present: Liberty X return In 2013 Pietersen reunited with
Liberty X for
ITV2's reality show
The Big Reunion, along with other pop groups of their time –
B*Witched,
Honeyz,
911,
Five and
Atomic Kitten – to solve past problems and do a live performance at the London
Hammersmith Apollo on 26 February. Due to the success, Liberty X returned for a full tour between 2013 and 2014. She also appeared in the game shows
Hole in the Wall and
The Chase, facing
Mark Labbett and winning £75,000 in her individual chase. In 2017, Pietersen,
Kelli Young and
Michelle Heaton reformed
Liberty X again, but as a three-piece girl group, without Tony and Kevin. Since then, they continued touring at music festivals and Pride events. ==Personal life==