Pop Idol stars’ sex confessions – public pleasure, Katie Price lie and co-star ‘fling’

Before the likes of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent hit screens, iconic reality music competition Pop Idol paved the way for UK talent shows.

Despite only running for two series, the ITV singing competition produced a number of huge stars, including Will Young and Gareth Gates, who have made more than a few racy confessions throughout their career. The judging panel featured music mogul Simon Cowell, along with record producer Pete Waterman, radio DJ Neil “Dr” Fox and music manager Nicki Chapman.

READ MORE: X Factor stars who’ve stripped off — naked in public to flogging nude snaps online

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As it’s been 22 years since Pop Idol first aired, Daily Star has looked at some of the contestants and judges’ steamiest revelations.

Public pleasure

In his autobiography To Be A Gay Man, Pop Idol series one winner Will Young admitted he used to perform solo sex acts on trains while struggling with his sexuality. The singer, 44, would “push the boundaries” and buy gay porn magazines in Victoria Station, later using them to pleasure himself in the toilet on the train.

He would then put the magazines in the bin before going about his normal life, however confessed to feeling a constant sense of shame. Will, who came out as gay 23 months after he was crowned champion of Pop Idol, wrote: “That summer, I started pushing the boundaries as far as I could. I noticed in the tube station in Victoria there was a newsagent that had gay porn mags.

“Even after buying the magazines, I felt that everyone in the tube station knew what I was up to. It was a mixture of terror and guilt. When I got to the train to take me back to the countryside and to home, I went to the loo and looked through the magazines. I went quickly through them and then squashed them into the bin before I got off the train so that there was no evidence. This became a routine for me.

“Each time before leaving London, I’d go to this particular newsagent and buy another magazine or two. Then I’d read them on the train, have a w**k, and deposit the evidence in the train bin before getting off at my stop. Slowly, I was finding my own sexuality through these magazines. The interesting thing was that it was done very much in secret and under a veil of guilt and shame, yet it was happening.”

Sex hotlines

The Light My Fire hitmaker also confessed to calling sex hotlines after finding numbers in the back of magazines.

Explaining the phone calls in more detail, the songwriter said: “Basically, it was a recording of someone reading a raunchy gay story, and it cost a fortune! I would have to keep on throwing pound coins into the slot to get just a meagre two minutes of story, read by a creepy-sounding American guy.

“As time went on, I became more and more frustrated, and I realised I couldn’t really hold it in anymore. It was the winter when I went off travelling to Australia for several months, before returning to retake my A levels. Somehow, I knew what I wanted was out there.”

Avoiding straight sex

Also in his book, Will admitted he was left with “overriding relief” when he was arrested for drink-driving as it got him out of getting intimate with his then-girlfriend. When he was 18, the pop star lost his driving license for 18 months after he was pulled over by police for driving the wrong way down a one-way road while intoxicated.

He explained: “My overriding thought as I was taken away was one of relief that I wasn’t going to have to have sex with the poor girl, who was back at the flat, waiting for her kebab. As it turned out, the policemen were very nice.

They kept calling me Jarvis (Cocker) because of the vintage suede jacket I was wearing, while I went on and on, telling them how I was going to be a famous pop star. I also asked for a cell with a view. I ended up losing my licence for 18 months, but being arrested did get me out of having sex with my old girlfriend, so it wasn’t an entirely lose-lose situation.”

Katie Price fling

Gareth Gates was just 17 when he lost his virginity to Katie Price, who at the time was pregnant with her eldest son, Harvey, 21. After their fling was made public, the now 39-year-old denied everything before taking a break from the spotlight.

“It wasn’t too long after that I decided to take a break from industry,” he told new! Magazine. “It wasn’t the reason I wanted to be a pop star. There are stars out there for the wrong reason. I was to be recognised for my talent.”

He later addressed lying about the claims, admitting it was because he didn’t want his family to know intimate details about his life. Discussing his decision to lie during an appearance on The Big Reunion in 2013, he said: “I denied the whole Jordan thing because I was 17, I didn’t want my family to find out about my sex life. If I hadn’t of lied it wouldn’t have been a big deal, my family, friends and fans wouldn’t have felt as let down I guess.”

He added: “For me I was very young, I had to say I don’t want to have a long term relationship at this age, so she sold the story, and I said it was all lies. The only thing I thought in my head to do was say it had never happened, I felt I had to because I didn’t want my family to know about my sex life, I didn’t tell anyone my family or friends, so they all backed me.”

‘Mint’ sex act

Three years after starring on Pop Idol, Andy Scott-Lee married Michelle Heaton. ITV reality show Michelle and Andy’s Big Day was based around their fairytale wedding, however, the couple called it quits just 19 months later.

What followed was a number of public spats, with the 43-year-old accusing the Liberty X singer of cheating on him with several men, including EastEnders star Matt Di Angelo, who also happened to be one of Andy’s best friends. The singer told the Sunday Mirror at the time: “She’s cheated on me, and once she started she just couldn’t stop.”

He also claimed that his former wife’s first fling took place seven months into their marriage. Andy said he discovered Michelle’s infidelity when she left her Facebook page open and he saw a message from someone bragging about a “mint” sex act. Despite denying her affair with the Dean Wicks star, Michelle confirmed that it was her infidelity that caused their marriage to break down.

Dannii Minogue fling

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Simon judged on both series of Pop Idol and went on to create its sister show, The X Factor, just one year after it finished. In 2007, the 63-year-old cast Dannii Minogue as a judge and the two allegedly grew closer while on the panel together.

The businessman opened up about his relationship with the singer during an interview for an unauthorised biography titled, Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell by BBC journalist Tom Bower, confessing it was “genuine love”. Simon said: “I had a crush on her. It was Dannii’s hair, the sexy clothes, and the t**s. I was like a schoolboy.

“She was foxy. She was a real man’s girl. Very feminine. It was genuine love. After Terri Seymour, I wasn’t ready for another relationship. The dad-of-one told TMZ that he felt “embarrassed and ungentlemanly” after news of their affair was sensationally ousted in the book.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk