Girls Aloud's Roberts against tanning

Reuters

IN COMPARISION: Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts won't succumb to using sunbeds because they can be addictive.

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Nicola Roberts feels pressure to get a tan.

The Girls Aloud star - who is filming a BBC documentary about tanning - doesn't like being the pasty one of her pop group but says she won't succumb to the sunbeds which she knows can become addictive.

She said: "I used to be hugely insecure about being pale - if I didn't have a tan I didn't feel attractive. But I realise now that was massively unhealthy. We don't all have to be 'tangoed' to be beautiful. The need for a tan is an obsession. "

The 24-year-old singer - who is also focusing on her beauty range Dainty Doll for pale-skinned girls - said she was shocked by the number of young people who'd become obsessed with visiting tanning salons.

She told The Sun newspaper: "For many kids it's compulsory in their everyday life. They visit a salon daily - if they miss a day they think they are pale. But they are red raw.

"I spoke to one 11-year-old girl who was able to go into an unsupervised tanning salon and basically lie there and burn. I also met a 14-year-old who used a sunbed every single day - sometimes twice a day. I've met people who are definitely obsessed and simply feel ugly when they're pale."