Will Young has paid tribute to his former Pop Idol co-star Darius Campbell Danesh.
The pair competed together in the first ever series of Pop Idol broadcast in 2001 on ITV with Will going onto win the entire competition whilst Darius came 3rd in the competition being eliminated in week 8 of the live finals.
But after Darius was found to be unresponsive in his Massachusetts apartment and died shortly after, aged just 41-years-old, Will stayed mostly silent on social media in the immediate aftermath of his tragic passing.
READ MORE: Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman chokes up over death of friend Darius Campbell Danesh
But now, Will has finally opened up on social media with a touching message for his fellow Pop Idol finalist.
(Image: WireImage)
Sharing a polaroid photo of the pair smiling and laughing from 2001, Will wrote a touching essay for his competitor whom he praised as “courageous and gentle”.
He wrote: “For the past few days my thoughts have been with Darius’s family and will continue to be so. I found this picture a while ago taken during Pop Idol.”
The Evergreen hitmaker continued: “If there was ever an example of not giving up on your dreams then Darius is top of the pile. Driven, courageous and gentle. My love goes to his family at this time x”
(Image: @willyoungofficial/Instagram)
This comes as there has been an outpouring of other tributes from the music industry, including from the show’s Judge Simon Cowell who said: “I first saw Darius on television over 20 years ago and I got to know him really well.”
“He was charismatic, funny and just a great person to be with.
(Image: PA)
His passing, for someone so young, is an absolute tragedy and my heart goes out to his family and friends.”
Whilst Pete Waterman OBE, another judge on the programme, appeared to fight back tears on BBC Breakfast as he paid an emotional tribute to his late pal.
He said at the time: “it was a phone call I never expected yesterday, to be honest, and I still am finding it difficult to come to terms with it.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
