Comin’ Atcha

Story

Comin’ Atcha is a television series based on the girl band Cleopatra – Cleo, Yonah and Zainam Higgins. The show follows their day-to-day life as they perform with the band, and at home with their family. In each episode the girls perform some of their own music, as well as overcoming obstacles like writing new songs and going on tour. The series also features their mother and younger sister and shows how the sisters’ fame affects their lives.

Why we chose it

Cleopatra were among the the first mainstream black artists to rise from the UK and were role models a generation of girls.

Where it came from

CITV started with a 60 minute Christmas Special for to launch the series.

Comin’ Atacha was the name of their first album and their first single, Cleopatra’s Theme, reached number 3 in the UK in 1998. 'Cleopatra, Comin’ Atcha' became the girls’ catch phrase.

Where it went next

After the success of Comin’ Atcha they released another series, In the House in 2000. Several of the girls’ songs tackled big issues including Life Ain’t Easy which is about homelessness. The band split up in 2001 and lead singer Cleo attempted a solo career so no more series were made.

Associated stories

Cleopatra filmed a 60 minute concert for the Disney Channel called Cleopatra in Concert where they performed their biggest hits on the Disney Cruise Ship and featured a behind the scenes look into their lives. They also performed at the Vatican as part of a charity Christmas Concert.

Comin’ Atcha was CITV’s response to the Spice Girls film, Spice World in 1997 and S Club 7’s TV series, Miami 7 on CBBC in 1999. The format of building a TV series around a popular band was very successful in the late 1990s and early 2000s.