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TV & Film

Pop Idol 20 years on: What happened next?

17 August 2022, 15:08

By Tom Eames

Pop Idol was the show that transformed the TV and music industries for the next two decades.

When watching clips of the show on YouTube now, it all seems rather sedate and understated compared to today's bombastic attention-grabbing shows, but Pop Idol was a true phenomenon when it debuted back in 2001.

February 2022 marked 20 years since Will Young was crowned the winner of Pop Idol 's first series, beating Gareth Gates in a live final that saw more people engaged in the outcome than most General Elections.

But what happened to its finalists next, and what legacy does the show have?

Pre-Pop Idol: What came before it?

Hear'Say - Pure And Simple (Official Video)

The singing talent competition was nothing new by 2001.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we had shows like Opportunity Knocks , New Faces and Star Search , which gave members of the public the chance to become stars.

There was also the moment Sheena Easton went from obscurity to international pop icon thanks to her appearance on The Big Time in 1981.

But by the end of the 1990s, this kind of format hadn't been in vogue for a while.

However, 2000 saw the first series of Big Brother become a TV staple, and it brought with it a new era of reality TV and competition programming that the public couldn't get enough of.

The same year as Pop Idol saw the first series of Popstars . While it didn't have a public voting element, it was fascinating at the time to see everyday folks with a singing ability (mostly), being whittled down before being turned into a new pop band.

Featuring a certain Myleene Klass and future Corrie star Kym Marsh , Hear'Say were absolutely huge in 2000, but had sadly faded away within a year. But the show proved how popular these kind of shows could be.

Former Spice Girls manager and Popstars judge Simon Fuller then came up with the idea of fusing elements of Popstars and Big Brother : a singing competition that the public voted for, eliminating the least popular each week before the ultimate winner was found.

This show was also Ant & Dec's first proper 'adult' show, having predominantly done kids' shows like SMTV Live . Pop Idol became their first big primetime hit, catapulting them to TV icon status.

Pop Idol made extensive use of premium-priced viewer voting, with fans voting by telephone, mobile texting, via the 'red button' on digital TVs, or via the official website.

Very quickly, the show became the show to watch, and it felt like the whole nation was hooked.

Who were the Pop Idol judges?

The Saturday night shows initially followed the audition process, as hopefuls sang in front of four judges:

• Record producer and music executive Pete Waterman
• Music executive and music manager Simon Cowell
• Music promoter and music manager Nicki Chapman
• Radio DJ and TV personality Neil 'Dr' Fox

At the time, Simon Cowell was famous within the music industry for creating stars out of the likes of Robson and Jerome and the Power Rangers, but he was a relative unknown to regular viewers at home.

It was also the era where 'mean' was cool. Anne Robinson was a superstar thanks to her terrifying persona on The Weakest Link , and shows like Big Brother were all about conflict and fall-outs. Thus, Simon took on his 'nasty' tag and cranked it up to 11.

Poor singers would often face incredibly harsh criticisms from the judges, especially from Simon. Their reactions would often range from laughing out loud to utter disgust, But it worked for Simon, as he got poached for the American Idol spinoff, becoming a star across the pond.

Who were the Pop Idol contestants?

Pop Idol Season 1 Top 10 Results Full Episode

After whittling down the contestants to 50, the public them down top 10 after five live show 'heats'. Each group of 10 would see the top two each week go through to the main live finals.

One shock occurred in these stages. Darius Danesh had become something of an infamous figure after his appearance on Popstars the year before.

He came back for Pop Idol , and almost made it through to the finals, but finished in third place in his heat. However, a couple of weeks later, that heat's winner Rik Waller had to leave the show due to illness, allowing Darius another comeback.

The final contestants were:

Jessica Garlick

Aaron bayley, laura doherty, rosie ribbons.

• Hayley Evetts

Zoe Birkett

• Darius Danesh

Gareth Gates

In the week leading to the final show, finalists Gareth Gates and Will Young both went on individual nationwide publicity campaign tours, and they each had their own bus. It was a very big deal.

In the end, Will Young won the show, having received 53.1% of the record 8.7 million votes. Yes, 8.7 million!

What happened next for the finalists?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Korben Niblett (@korbznibz)

Real name Chris Niblett, Korben has since worked at Jemma Kidd Make Up School, and according to his LinkedIn page, he launched his own company, Evolve Beauty, in 2014. Since November 2014, he has been a Regional Education Manager at Estee Lauder Travel.

Rik Waller i will always love you

Despite having to leave the show early, Rik still had a top 10 hit with a cover of 'I Will Always Love You' .

In 2002, Rik appeared in Celebrity Fit Club and two years later featured in Channel 5's Back to Reality , having some fierce rows with Jade Goody before finishing in sixth place.

After being dropped by EMI, Rik formed his own band and signed an album deal with Red Admiral Records. Today, Rik goes by the name of Richard. He has also been working as an exam invigilator and has run a mobile karaoke and disco service with his dad.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Owen Satterley (@osatts)

Jessica later represented the UK at Eurovision in 2002, coming third place with 'Come Back' (no easy feat!).

She got married in 2004 and has two kids, and attempted a music comeback in 2009.

Posted by Aaron Bayley Band on  Thursday, December 13, 2018

Geordie Aaron is now part of the Aaron Bayley Band, who play weddings and private events in Newcastle and the rest of the North East.

Aaron was also part of the reality supergroup G*Mania (alongside Andy Scott-Lee, Stacey McClean, Rikki Loney and Kavana).

©/Lorcan Doherty Photography - May 6th 2012. City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival. The Fontelles performing in Downeys. Photo Credit Lorcan Doherty Photography Lorcan Doherty Posted by City of Derry Jazz Festival on  Monday, May 7, 2012

Laura graduated from the University of Ulster with a music degree in 2006, and has been teaching hip-hop dancing in schools.

She also married her childhood sweetheart back in 2008.

Rosie Ribbons - Blink (Official Music Video)

Rosie signed a five-album deal with Telstar Records after Pop Idol and had two top 20 singles - 'Blink' and 'A Little Bit' - and she supported Liberty X and Blue on tour.

Sadly, Telstar then faced financial issues and she was released from her contract, so her album was axed.

Rosie also tried out for Australian Idol in 2007 but didn't make it to the final 12. She also had a few features on various singles, with a certain singer called Ed Sheeran joining her on the song 'All Falls Down'.

Hayley Evett

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hayley Evetts (@hayleyevetts)

Hayley went down the acting route after Pop Idol . She had a small part in Coronation Street and was also in Thriller – Live and Grease: The Musical (as Sandy, opposite Jonathan Wilkes).

She also returned to present Popstars: The Rivals Extra back in 2002 alongside Dane Bowers.

She later auditioned for The X Factor in 2012, but she didn't make it past boot camp. In 2016, Hayley almost represented Romania at Eurovision with the song 'Brand New Day'. However, she withdrew from the competition due to a severe knee injury.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐙𝐎𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐓𝐓 (@zoebirkett)

Aged just 16 when appearing in Pop Idol , Zoe finished in fourth place and then had a number 12 single 'Treat Me Like a Lady'.

Zoe then turned to musical theatre, appearing in various shows and pantos. She was also engaged to Pop Idol 2 runner-up Mark Rhodes, and she later dated her panto co-star and Big Brother winner Anthony Hutton.

She later landed the lead female role in Thriller – Live in the West End and a UK tour. She also had a major role in Priscilla Queen of the Desert in 2009, and returned to Thriller in 2013. Zoe also replaced Alexandra Burke in The Bodyguard .

Zoe also became a Big Brother housemate in 2014, not in the Celebrity edition, but as a regular contestant. She finished in ninth place.

Darius Campbell

What Is Popstars' Darius Up to Now? | Loose Women

Then known as Darius Danesh, he had an epic comeback after finishing third in Pop Idol , having been something of a joke figure after his stint in Popstars .

His debut album Dive In was a big success, giving him five top 10 singles including the number one hit 'Colourblind'. He also supported Shakira during her world tour.

Darius - now who later went by his surname Campbell - has been a big success in musicals in recent years, including Chicago , Guys and Dolls , Gone with the Wind and From Here to Eternity .

Darius also won Popstar to Operastar in 2010 – and he was married to Canadian actress Natasha Henstridge (they filed for divorce in 2013).

Tragically, Darius passed away aged just 41 in 2022, at his flat in the States.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gareth Gates (@gareth_gates)

Gareth won a legion of fans during his stint on Pop Idol , thanks to his cute gelled spikes and stammer.

After the show, he scored several big hits, including the million-selling cover of 'Unchained Melody' , the number one song 'Stupid Mistake', his Will duet 'The Long and Winding Road' and his questionable cover of 'Spirit in the Sky' with The Kumars.

A few more top 5 hits followed, but by his third album the hits had dried up, and his pop career was all but done by 2006.

He has made a return to TV in recent years, including competing on Dancing on Ice, and The Big Reunion.

Gareth has also been successful in stage musicals (like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , Les Miserables , Loserville , Legally Blonde , Boogie Nights ).

Gareth has also had a daughter called Missy, and has set up three performing arts academies with singer Jonathan Wilkes.

Will Young - Crying on the Bathroom Floor

After winning Pop Idol , Will managed to sustain a successful music career, and has proved to be one of the few talent show winners to do so.

• Will Young's 10 best songs ever, ranked

His winner's single 'Evergreen' is still one of the biggest selling singles of all time, and he's had many top 40 hits since then, including 'Leave Right Now', 'All Time Love', 'Your Game', and 'Jealousy'. He has released eight studio albums, all of which have made the UK top three, with the most recent being 2021's Crying on the Bathroom Floor .

Will has also done some acting, both on TV (like Mrs Henderson Presents, and Bedlam ) and on stage, where he got an Olivier nomination in 2013 for his role in Cabaret.

In 2016, he appeared in Strictly Come Dancing , but he quit the show for "personal reasons". In 2021, he appeared on The Masked Singer .

Will is also celebrating his Pop Idol past by going on a 20th anniversary tour in 2022.

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Life after Will Young: how talent shows shaped Britain

Love them or loathe them, 20 years on, Pop Idol, The X Factor and their ilk have reshaped British culture

Next month, it will be 20 years since the Pop Idol final. Watched by 15 million viewers, Will Young triumphed over Gareth Gates with 53.1% of a record 8.7 million votes.

It wasn’t just the start of things for Young and Gates, it marked the birth of a cultural phenomenon: the television talent show. In 2004, one of the Pop Idol judges, Simon Cowell, launched The X Factor in the UK, a primetime weekend TV show to discover new singing talent.

Right now, The X Factor is “resting”, believed permanently shelved, which counts as a mercy killing. After 15 series, it was a shadow of its former self: a formulaic karaoke-panto of nosediving ratings, hammy showboating, and forgettable contestants. The last UK winner – Dalton Harris in 2018 – stepped out into a swamp of indifference. Nor is Cowell the all-powerful starmaker, the primetime Barnum, he used to be: his recent ITV venture, Walk the Line , was axed after one series due to poor viewing figures .

How different from when The X Factor was an unstoppable ratings juggernaut, syndicating to 80 countries, spawning an international franchise, including a US version. The sociocultural impact went yet further, changing the shape, ethos, the very DNA, of mainstream culture – music industry practice; television programming – and rezoning the aspirations of starstruck youth, making them want to be pop stars instead of teachers, nurses or shop assistants, in a way many thought to be irresponsible. In a broader sense, did talent show culture have a small but significant effect on how ordinary people thought, reacted, perhaps even voted for real? Is this part of the legacy of this form of television: as much as it entertained, did it also make us more stupid?

At the start of the 21 st century, talent shows already differed from each other. Pop Idol and, later that year, Popstars: The Rivals , which formed Girls Aloud, were different to Popstars (2001), which put together Hear’Say and was billed as a documentary series about the making of a pop group. None of them bore much resemblance to talent shows of the past, such as New Faces or, earlier, Opportunity Knocks .

The X Factor turned out to be a different beast again: at once sentimental and cynical. It was lucky to emerge at a time when the music industry was wrongfooted by streaming and illegal file-sharing, and, just as crucially, when social media was on the rise. Cowell, with other judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, positioned himself as a harsh-but-fair panto villain, bestowing lavish praise and acid putdowns.

A music business executive, Cowell regarded himself as a talent-spotter, which raised eyebrows in music circles where he was known for dealing with acts such as Sinitta, Robson & Jerome, and the Teletubbies. But Cowell didn’t care about “cool”. A defiant anti-snob, his affinity was with unfashionable but vast markets; his aim was to make money.

The X Factor made huge global stars of the likes of One Direction, Leona Lewis and Little Mix, leading to swathes of the music industry becoming symbiotically linked with, and at times overly subservient to, talent show culture. The cultural pushback was immense. In 2009, in a move which seemed to be overwrought and a little spiteful, a song by Rage Against The Machine was pitted against The X Factor winner Joe McElderry’s version of Miley Cyrus’s The Climb, beating it to the Christmas No 1 spot. Many contestants, including the first winner in 2004, Steve Brookstein, have complained about being badly treated. Others have spoken of being left with mental health issues.

Elsewhere, criticism focused variously on the product – lame karaoke, suffocating everything else in the music industry, sucking up valuable resources – and also the effect on youth. In 2016, the then-Conservative education secretary, Nicky Morgan, worried: “[They] will look at The X Factor winners, or they will look at reality TV shows, and they will think you can have instant success, fame, money, overnight”.

Singer-songwriter Annie Lennox said: “You wouldn’t find a Joni Mitchell on X Factor … X Factor is a specific thing for people that want to go through that process – it’s a factory, you know, and it’s owned and stitched up by puppet masters.”

In their long poem, Brand New Ancients , Kae Tempest wrote scathingly of Cowell as “the permatanned god of our age”, asking “Why is this interesting? Why are we watching?”

Was there a strain of dark populism in shows like The X Factor , a coarsening of culture, and of public discourse? Certainly, television was changed for ever. Rival shows included Fame Academy (following Pop Idol ), The Voice , which launched its spinning chairs in the UK in 2012, all the way to last year’s frankly risible I Can See Your Voice on BBC One. Another Cowell vehicle, the variety-based Britain’s Got Talent , launched singer Susan Boyle and dance troupe Diversity – who supplied the most exciting talent show moment of recent years with the controversial on-stage kneel in homage to Black Lives Matter in 2020.

Elsewhere, there are celebrity-driven interactive-voting shows ( Strictly Come Dancing ; I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! ). And of course, the other gigantic phenomenon: reality television. Pop Idol and The X Factor were contemporaneous with Big Brother , and you can see The X Factor ’s fingerprints all over shows such as The Only Way Is Essex . That sense of, one way or another, it was time for ordinary people to be stars.

In this way, The X Factor grasped a huge emerging truth: that significant numbers of people were tired of rarefied celebrity; leastways, they were weary of being excluded from it. They didn’t want to look up to people any more, they wanted to look across. If it couldn’t be them, they wanted someone who looked, spoke and lived like them. In this way, class was hugely important to talent shows like The X Factor , which, significantly, focused on singing – no need to afford an instrument, or the lessons to learn one. Before long, there were two main types of contestant: those who were already grubbing about trying to make it in music, and those who came out of nowhere. Which suited Cowell and the television executives: members of the public are cheaper than entertainers, and more mouldable.

What emerged was a personality-first culture, driven less by ability than by the concepts of the “journey” and “likeability”. Who had the most heart-rending upbringing? Who had the best “dead-gran” story? The result was soapy, farcical, but also, at times, powerful and moving: these were real people, after all. More recently, the dating show Love Island could be viewed as the endgame of the formula: contestants getting by on personality/likeability and no discernible talent other than looking good in a swimsuit. As ever, the voting public, the Roman emperors of the remote control, give the thumbs up or down.

Considering such influence, why did The X Factor run aground? It would appear to be a combination of changing trends (mainstream music has become too hardcore for mainstream television), a flogged-to-death format, the growth of influencer culture and the likes of Kim Kardashian, and the rise of TikTok, where people can generate millions using only camera phones.

What did it all mean in the end? In positive terms: some talented artists, a Saturday night giggle, a true sense of democratised culture, a window on to the UK. Negatively: regurgitated culture, flattening of music elsewhere, the lie that everyone is a star.

In a wider sense, what has it done to us? Boris Johnson became prime minister, trading on his likability: ruffling his hair, dangling from a zip-wire. Did the cult of likability lumber us with a leader who couldn’t be trusted to obey his own lockdown rules? Maybe, maybe not.

One thing’s for sure, the talent show will be back. They’re the knotweed of popular culture: they come, they go, then they return in a different form. You can never quite get rid of them.

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Pop Idol: National tour dates

Full dates for the tour of the ten finalists from ITV's Pop Idol - Will Young, Gareth Gates, Darius Danesh, Zoe Birkett, Hayley Evetts, Rosie Ribbons, Laura Doherty, Aaron Bayley, Jessica Garlick and Korben.

Tickets cost £25.00 / £22.50, and are subject to a booking fee. Ticket line (all shows): 0870 163 3401. All shows begin at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated.

Thursday 14 March: Wembley Arena (0208 902 0902)

Friday 15 March: Wembley Arena (0208 902 0902)

Saturday 16 March: Wembley Arena, 14.30 (Matinee) (0208 902 0902)

Saturday 16 March: Wembley Arena (0208 902 0902)

Sunday 17 March: Wembley Arena (0208 902 0902)

Monday 18 March: London Arena (020 7538 1212)

Tuesday 19 March: London Arena (020 7538 1212)

Thursday 21 March: Sheffield Arena (01142 565 656

Friday 22 March: Sheffield Arena (01142 565 656

Saturday 23 March: Birmingham NEC (0870 909 4133)

Sunday 24 March: Birmingham NEC (0870 909 4133)

Monday 25 March: Manchester Evening News Arena (0161 930 8000)

Tuesday 26 March: Glasgow SECC (0870 040 4000)

Wednesday 27 March: Glasgow SECC (0870 040 4000)

Friday 29 March: Sheffield Arena (01142 565 656

Saturday 30 March: Manchester Evening News Arena (0161 930 8000)

Sunday 31 March: Birmingham NEC (0870 909 4133)

Monday 1 April: Birmingham NEC (0870 909 4133)

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

In this follow-up to the hit factual TV show "Popstars", the search is on for a new solo singer. Finalists are selected from auditions held in locations across the UK, and there are plenty o... Read all In this follow-up to the hit factual TV show "Popstars", the search is on for a new solo singer. Finalists are selected from auditions held in locations across the UK, and there are plenty of tears from wannabe stars whose hopes are dashed by the frank comments of the judging pan... Read all In this follow-up to the hit factual TV show "Popstars", the search is on for a new solo singer. Finalists are selected from auditions held in locations across the UK, and there are plenty of tears from wannabe stars whose hopes are dashed by the frank comments of the judging panel. The final winner, however, will be decided by the British public in a series of teleph... Read all

• Simon Fuller
• Anthony McPartlin
• Declan Donnelly
• Simon Cowell
• 7 User reviews
• 6 wins & 5 nominations total

Episodes 44

• Self - Presenter …

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• Self - Judge

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Simon Cowell's nieces and nephew, Tanyette, Melissa and Joshua, were shown briefly in the audience in various episodes during the first season.
• Connections Featured in Being Simon Cowell (2003)

User reviews 7

• Feb 11, 2002
• October 6, 2001 (United Kingdom)
• United Kingdom
• Teddington Studios, Teddington, Richmond upon Thames, Richmond, London, England, UK (on location)
• 19 Television
• FremantleMedia
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour

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• Pop Idol Tour 2004 CD & DVD
• Mar 18 2004

Pop Idol has been ever growing and this years has brought some major talents to our lives. This is NOT a demand it is simply a way of showing just how many people SUPPORT and would LIKE there to be a Pop Idol Tour 2004 CD and DVD.

I am signing this as a Pop Idol fan. This is not a demand but simply a way of showing that i support the idea of a Pop Idol Tour 2004 DVD and CD. The DVD and CD would be a way for us to keep and remember this years tour. This is my way of showing my support...

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