Pussycat Dolls are getting back together says band's creator Robin Antin

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Robin Antin was original creator of Pussycat Dolls dance troupe in 1995 then made them into girl group in 2005
She tells Daily Mail Online the original line-up are ready to reunite and adds: 'I'm doing everything I can to make it happen.'
Six-strong line up led by Nicole Scherzinger fell apart in 2009 amid claims of back-biting and clashing egos
But they have buried their differences and want to return to stage - and would love to perform with the Spice Girls who inspired them

By Ryan Parry West Coast Correspondent For Dailymail.com and Emma Patterson For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:18 EST, 5 August 2015 | Updated: 17:12 EST, 5 August 2015

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Ten years after they took the world by storm with a string of number one hits, The Pussycat Dolls are getting back together, the group's creator has told Daily Mail Online.

According to Robin Antin all six girls are on board for the reunion, it's just a matter of when.

Antin, 51, founded the modern burlesque troupe The Pussycat Dolls in 1995, when their debut single, Don't Cha, topped the charts in 15 countries. She says she has been in talks with band members and is doing 'everything' she can to make the reunion happen sooner rather than later.

Led by Nicole Scherzinger, the all-girl group's debut album PCD amassed sales of over 10 million, as the posse became known as the sassiest group since the Spice Girls.

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As they were: The Pussycat Dolls perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon in 2005

Going to be part of it: Nicole Scherzinger says she is 'totally down for it' and wants to be part of a reunion of the original line-up

Nicole Scherzinger explains Pussycat Dolls' break up (archive)

On their way to the top: Pussycat Dolls - from left to right - Melody Thornton, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Nicole Scherzinger, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt at a London awards ceremony in November 2005

Their success turned Nicole, Melody Thornton, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts into household names as they filled out stadiums around the world with their raunchy pop act and became one of the biggest-selling girl groups of all time.

Speaking about the comeback from her Los Angeles home, Antin told Daily Mail Online: 'The history of reunions is something that everyone always wants and looks forward to and I believe that, when the time comes for the Pussycat Dolls reunion, it will be massive.

'I have spoken with all of the girls about it a lot and I truly believe that's going to happen in the very near future.

'I just spoke to Nicole and told her about this interview and she said, "You can tell them I'm totally down for it'.

'Kim and I have also been talking openly about a reunion on Instagram, so we're definitely putting it out there.

'I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen, and I know all the girls feel the same way.

'It's just about timing and all of the different pieces of the puzzle coming together. I want it and the girls want it and everyone else wants it, then it's going to happen.'

With the boss: Robin Antin (bottom left) with the girl group she helped to create. She tells Daily Mail Online they are all going to get back together

Confident: Any animosity is long gone between the Dolls Antin says. 'What matters is that we are still connected and we're still in touch and we all love each other,' she says

The Pussy Cat Dolls split in 2009 amid rumors of rifts and ego clashes that tore the group apart.

But Antin reveals that's all behind them as the girls focus on getting back together.

'When people say, "Oh the girls didn't get along", well the truth is, we were all young and we all look back now and go, "Wow, none of that mattered",' she said.

'What matters is that we are still connected and we're still in touch and we all love each other.

'Girls will be girls, and I know because I've put together a lot of girl groups.

'The truth is, girls are more emotional than boys and their issues are real at the time, but I saw those girls have the time of their lives together.

'They were together 24/7 all the time and there were so many tough moments when I thought maybe they were going to separate, but they didn't. They stuck with it and they taught me so much.'

The dancer and choreographer also reveals how she owes a lot to Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp, who had faith in her original vision for a burlesque act ten years earlier.

In 1995, Depp allowed Antin and her dancers to perform at his then-famous nightclub The Viper Room, and before long celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera were signing up to star alongside her dance troupe.

By 2005, a girl group was formed off the back of the dance act and The Pussycat Dolls were propelled to global stardom faster than Robin admits she could ever have dreamed of.

Last week RAC Records dropped Nicole after poor sales, which could pave the way for her to finally reunite with her girlfriends.

And Antin says Scherzinger is key to any reunion.

Everyone wanted a piece of them: Britney Spears poses with the Pussycat Dolls while performing with them at the height of their success

Keeping up with the Dolls: Kim Kardashian takes to the stage to perform as a Pussycat Doll

No doubt she wanted to be one too: Gewn Stefani performing on stage with the Dolls in 2008

'Nicole is one of the hardest working singers and dancers I know. She never once turned up to work and said, 'I'm so tired', even when I knew that she was.

'She worked so hard, all of the girls did. I've never seen a group work so hard for it and want it so much.

'That's why I think The Pussycat Dolls were and still are the greatest girl group to this day.'

The group emerged following the girl power phenomenon of the late 1990s started by the Spice Girls.

And Antin believes The Pussy Cat Dolls were 'passed the baton'.

'We always look to the Spice Girls because they really were the mother ship and they created what girl groups are all about.

'They were a phenomenon and we were the next girl group who were there when they passed the baton on.

'The Spice Girls were probably inspired by us too and I think the greatest tour would be if The Pussycat Dolls toured with the Spice Girls.'

Since launching the group, Antin has turned The Pussycat Dolls into a live Vegas show, has designed a fashion line and is launching the Pussycat Dolls in Australia, a process that has reminded her of the challenges she faced when trying to find the first five girls ten years ago.

Treasured memories: One of Robin Antin's own snaps of Jessica, Melody and Nicole

Getting into the moves: Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Antin rehearsing. She had to tell Nicole to be sexy

'The audition process was crazy. It's also when I realized that my name was beginning to mean something and people out there were learning who I was.

'We found Nicole, Melody and Jessica through the audition process. Ashley and Kim were already in the group because they'd been in the live show.

'There were some girls who were in the show previously who I had to let go, which was incredibly hard because these girls were my best friends and it was so hard. I remember saying, "Can't we have everyone in the group?"

'But that wasn't possible and we were evolving so fast that we had to keep moving forward.

'The girls I had performing in the show could all sing, but ultimately they were all dancers, so suddenly we were looking for lightning in a bottle and I had no idea how we were ever going to find that

Despite finding most of the group, Robin recalls they were still struggling to find their lead voice.

Step-forward Nicole who wowed her during an audition she'll never forget.

'At the end of those auditions we'd still not found our 'racehorse' and were beyond exhausted but I knew in my heart that we were still on the hunt.

'I remember Nicole couldn't make the auditions and we were doing call backs but no one blew my mind.

'Then right at the end of the day, Nicole walked in. She was dressed in black pants and some weird kind of platform shoes, a white button down blouse and no make-up. She looked very conservative and I thought to myself, 'What a pretty face,' but I certainly wasn't thinking, 'Damn, what a knockout'. Her manager told us, 'Just you wait, this girl is amazing,' but I thought, 'I'll be the judge of that'.

'Nicole sang a song that she'd written and she had the most amazing voice, but I was thinking, 'Ok, she's beautiful, she has a great voice but she has the worst style and I guarantee she can't dance'.

'Then she told me she'd learned my choreography from a friend who had come to an earlier audition. Half of me thought it would end up being the biggest disaster, but I hoped for the best.

'She turned the music on and she suddenly ripped-off her shirt and pants and was wearing this sexy little outfit underneath and pulls on a pair of boots as fast as you can imagine, I mean it was shocking.

Here is the love: Fergie was among one of the many Hollywood names who performed with the Dolls

Across the generations: The desire to be a Pussycat Doll dragged in Scarlett Johansen and Pamela Anderson

'She did the routine exactly as I'd choreographed it and I thought, 'Oh wow, this girl is beyond good'. The fact that she could figure all this out on her own is amazing.

'Everyone was just like, 'Holy s*it. This is it, we've found our girl.'

But Scherzinger had one more trick up her sleeve.

Anti recalls: 'She then said, 'There's one last thing. I know you like the leg thing, all the girls told me', and she took her leg and lifted it all the way up into a standing splits and I just thought, 'Girl, where did you come from?' That was it for me.'

Some critics have said Nicole's role as lead vocalist overshadowed the other girls in the group, but Antin says this was always her intention for Scherzinger.

'Nicole became the face of The Pussycat Dolls and I couldn't have been happier about that. It was hard for her too because all of a sudden she'd gone from being in the girl group, Eden's Crush, to wearing a corset and doing live shows which was a bit of a struggle for her at first.

'She'd come from a religious background and I had to explain to her, 'Think about all the women in the incredible Broadway musicals, they are all sexy and incredibly well respected,' and she got that.'

Unknown to Antin or the rest of the group, Scherzinger struggled to deal with some of the pressures of leading the group, and in 2012 revealed she battled with the eating disorder bulimia for many of those years.

Antin admits: 'I honestly wasn't aware of it. I had put myself in a place where I could protect the girls and be the one that they could turn to, but at the same time I had other commitments and Nicole always seemed so on top of things.'

This is how she does it: Jimmy Fallon gets a lesson from Robin Antin in how to dance like a Pussycat Doll

Antin said she did everything she could to support the girls and keep them happy.

She said: 'I was their sister, their mother, their therapist, their friend, but that's just who I am. I'm very nurturing, but at the same time, it's hard and it's exhausting because they were on stage and in rehearsals and then getting on tour buses and traveling across countries.

'People would get sick or get injured, but Nicole never, ever missed one single rehearsal or show. She worked so hard, it was incredible and I'll be forever grateful for that.'

The group's debut single, Don't Cha, was released in April 2005 and topped the charts in 15 countries and sold over seven million copies worldwide.

The song featured rapper, Busta Rhymes, and was a huge commercial success.

'Once Don't Cha blew-up it kind of became out of control in a way,' Antin said.

'Suddenly we were shooting music videos, going on tours and had another 50 things on our calendar.

'I remember going down to the music video set one day and trying to be in as much control as possible, but when I got there I saw all these people and suddenly felt like my baby had just been born and it had already grown up and was off and running.'

Antin in referring to the hit live show she choreographed, produced and starred in along with some very famous faces at the Viper Room in Hollywood.

Nicole Scherzinger and team sing Pussycat Dolls during X Factor...

Getting ready: Antin at home, where she says she is looking forward to their comeback

Starting in 1995, the show ran for ten successful years and Antin saw people and even celebrities flock to watch her all-girl dance troupe perform.

Antin has welcomed a long list of Hollywood names to her Pussycat Dolls stage, including Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Christina Applegate, Carmen Electra, Charlize Theron, Fergie, and Kim Kardashian - but she believes there is a Pussycat Doll is everyone and all she needs is their trust in order to bring their inner 'Doll' out of them.

With a reunion on the horizon, she can look forward to even more phenomenal Pussycat Doll moments, and she hopes to one day bring a few more big names into her show - and hints they might even include men.

'I'd love Jennifer Lopez to do it. If I ever find myself in an elevator with her I think I'd find it hard not to tell her she'd be the best Pussycat Doll ever, ever. Hopefully she'd then say she'd love to do it. You never know.

'Another is Victoria Beckham. For me, Victoria would be the ultimate Doll. I honestly think she was born to be a Pussycat Doll, she's just so, so hot and so sexy, she is stunning and beautiful.

'What I love about Victoria is that she just loves women and she is all about female empowerment.'

She added: 'For years I've called it, 'Doll Domination' and I believe that inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll, but recently I've started saying "inside every woman, or man" because why not?'