London, Jul 1 (IANS): Singer Melanie Chisholm has defended her Spice Girls band member Victoria Beckham after critics branded her "moody".

The British girl band reunited in London to launch its Viva Forever musical, but the wife of soccer ace David Beckham was slammed by critics for not smiling during the photoshoot.

However, Chisholm has spoken out in defence, saying the mother-of-four was simply tired after making a transatlantic dash from her home in Los Angeles to attend the launch.

"It's annoying when people say Victoria wasn't smiling or didn't want to be there. She really did. It was a flying visit and both her and Melanie (Brown) were exhausted as they'd flown in from Los Angeles," mirror.co.uk quoted Chisholm as saying.

"She was so tired but, among us, she was on great form. It's great that she decided to make the trip at all. She's a very busy lady and in the middle of designing a new (fashion) range. It's certainly not easy for her." she added.