Five hundred screaming fans were left wondering What Took You So Long? when they queued for hours to meet Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

Baby Spice was 20 minutes late for an appointment to sign copies of her new single after her press interviews over-ran last night.

But cheers and screams erupted when the star finally made her appearance at Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.

A queue snaked from the first floor of the Virgin Megastore and wound round all the stands before stretching down to the second floor and out of the entrance to the store.

Fans clutched copies of the single and carried posters of both Emma and the rest of the Spice Girls.

They ranged from children as young as five to a 48-year-old hoping for a kiss from the singer.

Many were wearing Spice Girl T-shirts and scarfs and the tension built as they waited for her to make an appearance.

Elaine Evans, 16, travelled in from Peacehaven. She said: "I think she's brilliant. Spice Girls are great. I've liked their stuff right from the start but Emma is my favourite."

James Phillips, 48, from Brighton was angling for a kiss. He said: "I'm not a massive a fan of the music but Emma is gorgeous."

Best friends Lorraine Stuart and Pam Bagman queued for three hours.

Lorraine, 15 said: "I can't wait to meet her, she always seems really nice. Her new song is great."

Pam said: "I've got all the Spice Girls' albums and singles, they're the best."

Many fans started to chant Emma's name as they waited for the star.

Emma, dressed casually in a white blouse and jeans, was relaxed and waved to the crowd before sitting down to start signing copies of her single.

She told The Argus: "I love Brighton.

"It's a great place. We have even got a little holiday home down here on the seafront."

She said she was happy and her relationship with boyfriend Jade from pop band Damage was going well but the couple had no plans to marry.

She said: "Everything is going really well. We are both very supportive of each other."

The other Spice Girls had all wished her luck with the new single, but the band was still very much together, she insisted.

She said: "We like to branch out and do different things and we are still a group and we are all there for each other.

"I love doing things like these signings to give me a chance to be close to the fans.

"It is the most important thing. I am really hopeful the single will get to number one and people tell me things are looking good, but I am not going to say anything until Sunday."