Hannah was born on 1 April 1981 at Great Yarmouth, England. At the age of 3 she modelled in a Mothercare catalogue. At school she liked sports but at 12 she decided she wanted to be a performer. She landed a part in a local production of Annie. Hannah enjoyed it so much she decided to join the National Youth Music Theatre production of Pendragon where she met S Club 7 member Paul. She also appeared in English TV shows such as Blue Peter and the National Lottery. Then at age 18 she joined the pop group S Club 7.