Roland Mouret knew it was important to "kill" Victoria Beckham the Spice Girl

In a viral moment from Victoria's new Netflix documentary series, Roland said on camera: "We have to kill the WAG."

And he told the Sunday Times Style magazine: "In the beginning I wondered if Simon Fuller was trying to make me the sixth member of the band.

"He called me up and said, 'I just want you to have dinner with her.' It all happened from there...

"From our very first meeting we both knew we had to kill that character because the woman I met wasn't a Spice Girl, she was someone who used to be a Spice Girl who was trapped in that skin. The person I met had lost sight of who she was. She had lost weight, lost confidence."

Roland isn't apologetic about Victoria's claim she was reduced to tears in the early days of her fashion career, which began with a range of dresses in 2008.

He said: "I always told her we would succeed and told myself that if we failed we'd fail beautifully.

"When the Netflix people told me she was going to say I made her cry, I said, 'If she cried, it's because she cried herself on her own limitations. My role is not to make people cry.'"

Although similarities between Roland's creations and Victoria's first collection were noted, the pair didn't speak of their partnership, which continued for many years.

He said: "I never ever lied, they just never asked the right question."

A few years ago, Roland received an unexpected text message from Victoria asking if he would give an interview to Netflix, and though he had heard she was making the show, he hadn't expected to be part of it.

He said: "I was happy to hear from Victoria. I presumed she'd come far enough in her journey on her own to recognise that maybe it was time."

The designer feels frustrated that Victoria has faced far more criticism than many other high-profile women such as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who have founded their own brands without any formal fashion training.

He said: "In the UK everyone loves to judge and she was an easy target.

"It's no surprise she never smiled. She was always worried someone was going to hurt her."