It doesn't really come as a surprise because Whole Again was a massive worldwide hit and this is the first single from the forthcoming album.

Gennaro Castaldo HMV Chart Expert

Destiny's Child have sold 13,182 copies of Bootylicious whereas the Kittens have shifted 35,358 copies.

Gennaro Castaldo, HMV's chart expert, was unsurprised by Atomic Kitten's march to their second UK number one.

Million copies

Mr Castaldo said: "It doesn't really come as a surprise because Whole Again was a massive worldwide hit and this is the first single from the forthcoming album.

Whole Again was Atomic Kitten's first number one and sold over one million copies worldwide.

"It is the first opportunity their fans will have had to buy the song whereas a lot of Destiny's Child's fans will have had the song Bootylicious," Castaldo said.

Destiny's Child's single comes from their album, Survivor, which is a multi-platinum seller.

The Bangles' Eternal Flame was also a huge chart success, hitting number one in February 1989,

The girl band - Jenny Frost, Natasha Hamilton and Liz McClarnon - have recently completed filming of a cameo appearance in Channel 5's Australian soap Home and Away.