Gareth Gates stunned fans at Manchester Pride this weekend, performing his greatest hits in a series of revealing outfits, including tiny trunks and an eye-popping pair of bottomless pink chaps. The Pop Idol finalist, now 42, looked a world away from his squeaky clean debut on the ITV show 25 years ago.
Revealing performance
The singer, who was only 17 when he shot to fame alongside show winner Will Young, sent fans into a frenzy as he showed off his ultra buff body. With slick choreography, he had the crowd on their feet as he whipped off his jeans to reveal a pair of tiny sequin-strewn underpants. As fans whooped and cheered, the Bradford-born star had a smile a mile wide as his audience screamed with excitement.
From Pop Idol to Pride
Gareth shot to fame on Pop Idol as a spiky haired teenager with a stutter when he lost out to Will Young in the first-ever offering of the show back in 2002. An overnight success, he found himself mixing with a host of famous faces, including Katie Price.
Katie, then known as glamour model Jordan, claims she took Gareth's virginity in news that hit all the headlines. Setting the story straight on Jamie Laing's podcast recently, the singer said: "I'll just say I was extremely inexperienced with a girl who was extremely experienced. I could see why she thought that.
"I haven't ever spoken about relationships. I believe that relationships are between two people and I couldn't believe that somebody else was selling stories about very, very intimate details."
Admitting the story being splashed all over the newspapers was a "real learning curve", he added: "And I was shocked and I learned a lot about that - about people and about the industry, and about trust I guess. I would never have ever done that to her or to anybody else, and so it was a real learning curve for me."
Celebrity SAS victory
Despite losing out to Will on Pop Idol, Gareth was finally crowned victorious when he won Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2023. Speaking to the Mirror about the gruelling experience, he said: "It actually felt like I’d been preparing for this my whole life. The struggle with my speech and having to be mentally strong to hear them say [I had passed]. I was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible’.
"I thought at last, I’ve actually won a talent TV show and not came second this time. It was a massive weight off my shoulders. I’ve finally redeemed myself from being the biggest loser in the UK back in 2002."
