The first series of British reality television show Pop Idol was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom during the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a singing competition open to people aged between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1 million recording contract to release their debut album. Pop Idol received ratings of as high as 10 million viewers for shows before the live final. The footage of the programme's opening titles, as well as the live final of this series, was used in the first season of American Idol, which began over four months after the airing of the live final, in which Kelly Clarkson won the season.
Auditions were held during the early months and summer of 2001 in various locations across the United Kingdom. Selected acts were broadcast on a series of audition programmes in October 2001. The first live show was broadcast on 15 December 2001 and the live final was held on 9 February 2002. The competition was won by Will Young, with Gareth Gates finishing as the runner-up after a public vote. Both of the finalists went on to have chart successes with both their debut releases and subsequent material. Third-placed Darius Danesh also gained a record deal and achieved a string of top-40 hits in the United Kingdom, including a number-one single.
The live shows were broadcast in two parts on Saturday evenings. Each of the contestants sang in an early show at around 19:00 GMT and the results were given in a show broadcast later in the evening.
Judges and Presenters The show had four judges, Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman and Neil Fox, who gave comments on both the auditions and live performances of the singers. Chapman had also been a judge on the first series of Popstars, a previous ITV talent show with a similar format. Waterman was later a judge on Popstars: The Rivals, the second and final series of Popstars.
Presenting duo Ant & Dec hosted the main shows on ITV, with Kate Thornton presenting the spin-off programme Pop Idol Extra on ITV2.
Finals Finalists Finalist Age * From Status Korben 21 London Eliminated 1st in Week 1 Rik Waller 22 Gillingham Withdrew in Week 2 Jessica Garlick 20 Kidwelly Eliminated 2nd in Week 2 Aaron Bayley 26 Newcastle Eliminated 3rd in Week 3 Laura Doherty 19 Derry Eliminated 4th in Week 4 Rosie Ribbons 18 Alltwen Eliminated 5th in Week 5 Hayley Evetts 25 Birmingham Eliminated 6th in Week 6 Zoe Birkett 16 County Durham Eliminated 7th in Week 7 Darius Danesh 21 Glasgow Eliminated 8th in Week 8 Gareth Gates 17 Bradford Runner-up Will Young 22 Wokingham Winner * as of the start of the series
Heats and live shows The heats began airing on 3 November 2001, and consisted of five heats of ten singers. The performance shows were prerecorded on the previous Wednesday, and were shown on the Saturday, with the live results shows following after. Contestants dressed the same to create the illusion that the earlier performances were live. The two contestants from each heat with the most votes progressed to the top 10, where all shows were live. The live shows began on 15 December 2001, and continued through to the live final on 9 February 2002.
Results summary Colour key –Contestant was in the bottom two –Contestant was in the bottom three –Contestant received the fewest public votes and was eliminated –Contestant received the most public votes (weeks 1-8) –Contestant won the competition
Stage:HeatsLive showsWeek: Place Contestant1Will Young 41.5% 1st 27.3%1st 22.6%1st 21.3%1st 29.8%2nd 25.2%2nd 24.0%2nd 27.9%1st 39.8%Winner 53.1%2Gareth Gates 62.0% 2nd 26.3%2nd 20.8%2nd 21.0%2nd 23.3%1st 36.6%1st 25.4%1st 28.7%2nd 39.3%Runner-up 46.9%3Darius Danesh 3rd 19.9% N/A3rd 19.0%3rd 18.2%3rd 18.0%4th 13.3%3rd 23.7%3rd 24.5%3rd 20.9%Eliminated (Week 8)4Zoe Birkett2nd 10.0% 3rd 10.8%4th 14.2%4th 11.4%5th 7.8%3rd 14.0%4th 15.6%4th 18.9%Eliminated (Week 7)5Hayley Evetts 1st 33.2% 6th 6.8%5th 5.1%5th 8.4%4th 10.8%5th 5.8%5th 11.3%Eliminated (Week 6)6Rosie Ribbons 1st 51.2% 4th 10.5%7th 4.8%7th 6.9%6th 5.5%6th 5.1%Eliminated (Week 5)7Laura Doherty 2nd 30.8% 8th 4.3%8th 4.3%6th 7.1%7th 4.8%Eliminated (Week 4)8Aaron Bayley 2nd 24.9%5th 6.8%6th 5.4%8th 5.7%Eliminated (Week 3)9Jessica Garlick 2nd 12.4% 7th 4.6%9th 3.8%Eliminated (Week 2)10Rik Waller 1st 25.6% N/AQuit Withdrew(week 2)11Korben 2nd 24.7% 9th 2.6%Eliminated (Week 1)Heat 5Sarah Whatmore 4th19.8%Eliminated (Heat 5)Vanessa Cavanagh5th3.5%Eliminated (Heat 5)Jade Cannell EliminatedEliminated (Heat 5)Rachel Makins Eliminated (Heat 5)Davina Perera Eliminated (Heat 5)Joanne Slattery Eliminated (Heat 5)Hayley Bamford Eliminated (Heat 5)Heat 4Natalie Anderson 3rd12.6%Eliminated (Heat 4)Tania Elise Foster 4th5.9%Eliminated (Heat 4)Rebecca Govan 5th3.9%Eliminated (Heat 4)Sally Goodison EliminatedEliminated (Heat 4)Zoey Callandria Jones Eliminated (Heat 4)Lucinda O'Connel Eliminated (Heat 4)Scott Sadari Eliminated (Heat 4)Craig Thomas Eliminated (Heat 4)Heat 3Oliver Manson 3rd8.8%Eliminated (Heat 3)Sandi McCash 4th8.5%Eliminated (Heat 3)Christopher Mason 5th8.3%Eliminated (Heat 3)Suraya Klein-Smith EliminatedEliminated (Heat 3)Anthony Batey Eliminated (Heat 3)Helen Farrar Eliminated (Heat 3)Andrew Derbyshire Eliminated (Heat 3)Carla Winters Eliminated (Heat 3)Heat 2David Wilson 3rd11.5%Eliminated (Heat 2)Katie Neiman 4th8.3%Eliminated (Heat 2)Nicola Thomas 5th7.6%Eliminated (Heat 2)Nikk Mager EliminatedEliminated (Heat 2)Jonathan Campbel Eliminated (Heat 2)Kerry Pitt Eliminated (Heat 2)Chris Gazzard Eliminated (Heat 2)Joanne Birchall Eliminated (Heat 2)Heat 1Haifa Kayali3rd9.0%Eliminated (Heat 1)Christopher Tame4th7.0%Eliminated (Heat 1)Juliana Hoy5th6.0%Eliminated (Heat 1)Paula-Jade CreminEliminatedEliminated (Heat 1)Andy LoveEliminated (Heat 1)Laverne Scott-RobertsEliminated (Heat 1)Jayne StalaEliminated (Heat 1)Ian JohnstoneEliminated (Heat 1)
Darius Danesh was originally eliminated on 8 December results show, placing third in his heat. However, he returned to the show when Rik Waller, who had won the heat, was forced to pull out of the competition due to illness. Danesh started competing from the show of 22 December.
Live show details
Heat 1 (3 November 2001 - recorded on 31 October 2001) + Contestants' performances on the first live heat Act Order From Song Result Laverne Scott-Roberts1Winsford"Can't Fight the Moonlight" (LeAnn Rimes)Eliminated Zoe Birkett2Darlington"One Moment in Time" (Whitney Houston)Advanced – (2nd place) Errol Edwards3Basford"Another Day in Paradise" (Phil Collins)Eliminated Juliana Hoy4Renfrew"One for Sorrow" (Steps)Eliminated – (5th place) Paula-Jade Cremin 5Cricklewood"The Greatest Love of All" (George Benson)Eliminated Christopher Tame6Thirsk"All or Nothing" (O-Town)Eliminated – (4th place) Jayne Stala7Nottingham"Isn't She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder)Eliminated Gareth Gates8Bradford"Flying Without Wings" (Westlife)Advanced – (1st place) Haifa Kayali9 Chigwell"Unbreak My Heart" (Toni Braxton)Eliminated – (3rd place) Andy Love10Berkhamsted"Man in the Mirror" (Michael Jackson)Eliminated
Notes The five contestants who received the highest number of votes were revealed in reverse order. Gareth Gates and Zoe Birkett advanced to the top 10 of the competition and the other eight contestants were eliminated. Haifa Kayali later auditioned for the second series of The X Factor where she again narrowly missed out on the live shows, after being eliminated in the judges' houses round. Laverne Scott-Roberts appeared on The Voice UK in 2014 and her performance made all four mentors want to work with her. She chose to join Tom Jones' team.
Heat 2 (10 November 2001 - Recorded on 7 November 2001) + Contestants' performances on the second live heat Act Order From Song Result Joanne Birchall1Liverpool"Chain Reaction" (Diana Ross)Eliminated Hayley Evetts2Birmingham"I Have Nothing" (Whitney Houston)Advanced – (1st place) Chris Gazzard3 Bromley"Lately" (Stevie Wonder)Eliminated Kerry Pitt4Hemel Hempstead"Touch Me in the Morning" (Diana Ross)Eliminated Jonathan Campbell5 Cumbernauld"Deeper Shade of Blue" (Steps)Eliminated Nikk Mager6Halifax"When You Say Nothing at All" (Ronan Keating)Eliminated Laura Doherty7Derry"Tears in Heaven" (Eric Clapton)Advanced – (2nd place) Katie Neiman8Hove"From This Moment On" (Shania Twain)Eliminated – (4th place) David Wilson9Gateshead"Love Is All Around" (The Troggs)Eliminated – (3rd place) Nicola Thomas10East Finchley"Finally" (CeCe Peniston) Eliminated – (5th place)
Notes; The hosts revealed the five contestants who received the highest number of votes in reverse order. Hayley Evetts and Laura Doherty advanced to the top 10 of the competition. The other 8 contestants were eliminated. Nikk was later a finalist on Popstars: The Rivals, but failed to win a place in One True Voice and instead joined the boy band Phixx, who disbanded after one album. He later auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, but the judges didn't put him through.
Heat 3 (17 November 2001 - Recorded on 14 November 2001) + Contestants' performances on the third live heat Act Order From Song Result Jessica Garlick1Kidwelly "Crazy for You" (Madonna) Advanced – (2nd place) Andrew Derbyshire2 Burnley"Wind Beneath My Wings" (Bette Midler)Eliminated Suraya Klein-Smith3Bethnal Green"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith)Eliminated Oliver Manson4Harrow"I Swear" (All-4-One)Eliminated – (3rd place) Carla Winters5 Croydon"Get Here" (Oleta Adams)Eliminated Sandi McCash6 Dundee"Perfect" (Fairground Attraction)Eliminated – (4th place) Anthony Batey 7 Rugeley "Against All Odds" (Phil Collins)EliminatedHelen Farrar8 Luton"Say a Little Prayer (Dionne Warwick)Eliminated Christopher Mason9 Solihull"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Elton John)Eliminated – (5th place) Rosie Ribbons10 Alltwen "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (Bryan Adams)Advanced – (1st place)
Notes; The five contestants who received the highest number of votes were revealed in reverse order. Rosie Ribbons and Jessica Garlick advanced to the top 10 of the competition. The other eight contestants were eliminated All four judges predicted that Andrew Derbyshire would progress, but he failed to make the top five in the public vote. He later auditioned for Simon again during Britain's Got Talent.
Heat 4 (24 November 2001 - Recorded on 21 November 2001) + Contestants' performances on the fourth live heat Act Order From Song Result Lucinda O'Connell1Nottinghamshire"How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes)Eliminated Craig Thomas2Cardiff"I Believe I Can Fly" (R.Kelly)EliminatedSally Goodison3Barnsley"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (Eurythmics)Eliminated Scott Sadari4London"You've Got a Friend" (Carole King)Eliminated Natalie Anderson5West Yorkshire"Hero" (Mariah Carey)Eliminated – (3rd place) Zoey Callandria Jones6Lancaster"Think Twice" (Celine Dion)Eliminated Korben7 Bedford"From the Heart" (Another Level)Advanced – (2nd place) Tania Elise Foster8 Brixton"Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees)Eliminated – (4th place) Rebecca Govan9 Manchester"Out of Reach" (Gabrielle)Eliminated – (5th place) Will Young10 Wokingham"Light My Fire" (The Doors)Advanced – (1st place)
Notes The five contestants who received the highest number of votes were revealed in reverse order. Will Young and Korben advanced to the top 10 of the competition. The other eight contestants were eliminated. Natalie Anderson was eliminated, but later found fame when she appeared in the West End production of Wicked and several television shows, including a lengthy stint in The Royal and Holby City. She currently appears in ITV soap opera Emmerdale, playing the part of Alicia Metcalfe.
Heat 5 (1 December 2001 - Recorded on 28 November 2001)