When Louis Walsh first started putting together a boy band in 1993, he was aiming for “an Irish version of Take That”.

The result was Boyzone: a band who would overtake Take That in chart success, turning its five members – Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy – into international stars.

Now, in a new Sky documentary series, the inside story of the band, and all the highs and lows that came with it, will be opened up to the public like never before.

Here’s everything you need to know about the stars that made up one of the most defining pop acts of the 1990s.

Ronan Keating was the lead singer of Boyzone and the youngest star of the group, joining as a founding member at the age of 16.

He is the youngest of five children, and initially showed promise as a track star before pursuing a career in music.

In 1999, while still in Boyzone, he became the first member of the group to launch solo material, releasing When You Say Nothing At All for the soundtrack to rom-com Notting Hill.

The subsequent album, Ronan, has since been certified 4x platinum in the UK, with tracks including Lovin’ Each Day and Life Is A Rollercoaster.

He has released 11 solo albums in total across his career, on top of his work with Boyzone.

On top of this, Ronan became a regular feature as a judge in talent competitions – being a mentor and panellist on five seasons of The X Factor Australia, one season of The Voice Australia, two seasons of The Voice Kids UK.

He has been married twice, Yvonne Connelly from 1998 to 2015 and Storm Uechtriz from 2015 to present, and has five children across the two marriages.

Stephen Gately was the co-lead singer of Boyzone alongside Ronan Keating, joining the group when it first formed in 1993.

He grew up in a working class family from Dublin, and was the fourth of five children. While at school, he developed a love for musical theatre, before joining Boyzone at the age of 17.

In 1999, he came out publicly as gay on the discovery that an acquaintance was going to sell the story to UK tabloids. He later became known as a gay icon.

Stephen was also outspoken about his struggle with depression, and was an advocate for youth charities including National Missing Persons Helpline and Caudwell Children’s Charity throughout his life.

After the band split in 2000, Stephen launched a solo career, releasing three singles, and returned to musical theatre, appearing in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on London’s West End.

In 2007, he competed on ITV’s Dancing On Ice, and a year later reunited with the rest of Boyzone for planned new music and tours.

Stephen died at the age of 33 on October 10, 2009, after suffering complications from an undiagnosed heart condition. He was survived by his husband, Andrew Cowles, whom he married in 2006.

Keith Duffy has become known as an actor on Coronation Street as well as his time in Boyzone.

Growing up the middle child of three brothers, Keith grew up as a talented sports star, representing Dublin’s Under-16 hurling team for three years.

Prior to joining Boyzone, he showed a preference for rock music, learning the drums and performing in bands.

He was encouraged to audition for Boyzone by Louis Walsh after he was seen dancing at POD nightclub in Dublin, becoming a founding member of the band after singing Billy Joel’s Piano Man.

When the band split in 2000, he continued to perform with Shane Lynch as a duo under the name Keith N Shane.

Like his bandmates, Keith has made regular appearances on reality TV, including the first Celebrity Big Brother in 2001 (placing third), Celebrity Fort Boyard later that year, and diving competition series Splash! in 2014.

In 2002, he landed a three-week arc on Coronation Street as newcomer Ciaran McCarthy, but proved such a hit that his contract was extended. He eventually left the show in 2005 after three years, but returned for a short stint in 2010 to 2011. By the time he quit the show, he had appeared in 407 episodes of the soap.

In 2008, after returning to Ireland permanently to be closer to his family, he joined Irish soap Fair City as James ‘Ringo’ Leyden, leaving after a year. He then became a presenter, hosting TV show The Box and judging talent show You’re A Star.

In 2016, he formed Boyzlife – a duo with Westlife’s Brian McFadden – and they’ve released two albums together.

Away from the limelight, Keith is an advocate and fundraiser for autism awareness, after his daughter was diagnosed with the learning disability.

He has been married to wife Lisa since June 1998, and together they have two children, Stephen Duffy (born in 1996) and Mia (born in 2000).

Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham was originally a member of boyband Ivory before auditioning to be in Boyzone, and wasn’t chosen as part of the initial line-up.

However, he was drafted in to join the group by manager Louis Walsh after the early exit of two founding members, Richard Rock and Mark Walton.

Despite the band’s pop sound, he has a preference and history in rock and Irish folk music.

After the band broke up in 2000, he released one solo album, Meet Me Halfway, then later trained as an actor and studied music technology and sound production in order to continue to create music.

He would later reunite with the group in 2007 when the band reformed and went on tour.

In 2010, he competed in Dancing On Ice, and in 2013 appeared on Celebrity Apprentice in Ireland.

Shane Lynch landed a spot in the band when Louis Walsh held open auditions in Ireland in 1993, hoping to create a band to rival Take That.

Before joining the group, he did not excel in school due to undiagnosed dyslexia and was later expelled, but showed great promise in motorsports. At the age of 14, he won the Portuguese BMX Championship.

His family have all proven to be musical – with his sisters, twins Adele and Keavy, both in 90s girl group B*Witched, another sister, Naomi, in group Buffalo G, and a fourth sister Tara in band FAB!

During his time in the band, he became known as the group’s ‘bad boy’ due to his piercings, tattoos, and at times aggressive behaviour, which included a physical fight with P Diddy at the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards.

When the band split in 2000, he continued to perform with Keith Duffy as a duo under the name Keith N Shane.

Between the band’s split in 2000 to reunion in 2007, Shane became an actor, joining Sky One drama, Dream Team, and made regular appearances in pantos across the UK.

He also returned to his first love of motor racing, competing in the British GT Championship from 2002 to 2006, before Boyzone reformed and toured in 2007.

Across his career, Shane has become a regular face on reality TV shows, including The Games in 2004, Love Island in 2006, Sky One’s Cirque De Celebrite in 2007, and Celebrity MasterChef.

In 2018, he participated in Celebrity Big Brother, coming in third place, and also appeared as a judge in the All Ireland Talent Show from 2005 to 2010.