MEL B - MELANIE BROWN HAILED AS MODERN-DAY GINGER ROGERS

SPICE GIRL MELANIE BROWN has so impressed judges on U.S. TV show DANCING WITH THE STARS - she has been hailed as the new GINGER ROGERS. The 32-year-old pop star was praised for successfully mastering the quick step - one of the show's most difficult routines - as she took to the dancefloor on Monday night (01Oct07). And her efforts earned her comparisons to veteran jazz singer Lena Horne and Fred Astaire's 1930s dancing partner, Rogers. Judge Bruno Tonioli said: "You have the classy look of Lena Horne and the great twinkle toes of Ginger Rogers. A wonderful package." But Brown failed to dazzle on the scoreboard - her quick step with Ukranian ballroom dancing champion, Maksim Chmerkovskly, only landed the star in fourth place, with 23 points out of 30.