97-415: Popstars: The Rivals is a British television talent show series, broadcast on ITV in late 2002. It was the second UK series of the international Popstars franchise . Unlike Popstars , which resulted in the formation of one winning group, Hear'Say (the other finalists went on to form Liberty X ), Popstars: The Rivals created two rival groups, Girls Aloud and One True Voice , who competed for
194-519: A VJ Day concert at Horse Guards Parade , London. Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh both turned their attention to acting and modeling during the hiatus. Following an appearance in the BBC television film Freefall , Harding had a starring role in the film St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold , Harding recorded three solo songs for the soundtrack. Harding also modelled for Ultimo lingerie and presented Sky Living reality TV show 'Dating in
291-640: A boy band and a girl group , in a "battle of the sexes", to vie for the Christmas number one spot in the UK Singles Chart , a traditionally competitive time in the British music market. To further the rivalry, members of the public were to select who would remain in the show by voting for their favourite acts using premium-rate telephone numbers, text messaging, via the Popstars website, and with
388-653: A high school might not have many students with any interest in performing in front of the student body for the sole purpose of performing alone and may offer different prizes as an incentive for these students to participate in the contest. Since the late 1940s, talent shows have become a notable genre of reality television . Ever since the original airing of Doorway to Fame in 1947, countless spin-offs have been produced. In order of oldest to newest, here they are: All of these spin-offs have been critical in catapulting amateur artists to stardom and resulting in their commercially successful careers. Talent shows can be seen as
485-565: A lap-dancer at Stringfellows . Later photographed by the tabloids that week with new wife Billie Piper in the nearest pub to their home in Hascombe , Surrey while claiming he was too ill to present his show, he was dismissed on 28 June 2001 for repeatedly failing to arrive at work. Evans was replaced by the older Steve Penk , whom Evans criticised for his age – 39 versus Evans's then 35. Evans attempted to sue Virgin Radio, claiming that he
582-597: A live link-up that " Sound of the Underground ", recorded by Girls Aloud,had reached number one on the Singles Chart, thereby becoming the Christmas number one. One True Voice's double A-side single " Sacred Trust/After You're Gone " entered the chart at number two. The series was hosted by Davina McCall , with the performances judged by Pete Waterman , Louis Walsh and Geri Halliwell . In addition to
679-604: A Monday-to-Thursday evening show; he remained in this slot until the end of 1990. In early 1991, as a result of his first regular TV hosting work presenting the Power Up breakfast show on The Power Station for British Satellite Broadcasting , Evans moved to presenting Round at Chris's , every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which he continued to present until April 1993. In addition to his Saturday morning show on GLR , in March 1992 Evans began presenting
776-508: A Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio 1, replacing Phillip Schofield . His show, Too Much Gravy , was broadcast from 14:30 to 16:00 and ended in September 1992. His move to Radio 1 was short-lived but seen as a huge success, with controller Johnny Beerling later admitting he wished he'd offered Evans a full-time show there and then. At the time, however, Evans objected that Radio 1 had attempted to constrain his style, preventing him from using
873-518: A character on his show called 'Nobby Nolevel' ('No 'O' Level '); acting as a disc jockey in the evenings at local pubs when he was not at Piccadilly Radio; and still working at the newsagents, opening up daily at 5 a.m. to sort out the newspaper deliveries. Evans switched to a full-time position at the station in 1984, his new role including being driven around the Manchester area in the radio car to turn up at listeners' houses. In addition he
970-604: A greatest hits collection – What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004), Chemistry (2005), The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits (2006), Tangled Up (2007), and Out of Control (2008). All of their albums have been certified platinum, while The Sound of Girls Aloud has sold over a million copies. Their albums have produced 20 consecutive UK top ten singles, including four number ones. Girls Aloud have been nominated for four BRIT Awards , winning Best Single in 2009 for " The Promise ". In 2009, Girls Aloud took
1067-473: A handover to Ken Bruce at 09:30. While Evans replaced Wogan owing to his long-planned retirement, supporters of Kennedy alleged there was a deliberate intention to force her out so that Evans's show could be lengthened. His first three songs were The Beatles ' " All You Need Is Love " and " Got to Get You into My Life "; and Frank Sinatra 's " Come Fly with Me ". His co-presenters included ex-BBC TV newsreader Moira Stuart , sports presenter Jonny Saunders (who
SECTION 10
#17328018487981164-455: A hiatus to explore solo endeavours. Cheryl Tweedy became Cheryl and proceeded to release four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014), which reached number-one, number-one, number-two, and number-seven, respectively. Collectively, the albums included ten singles, five of which – "Fight for This Love", "Promise This", "Call My Name", "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care" – reached
1261-643: A holiday in Killarney , Evans listened to the Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan on the radio. Evans claims the variety on Ryan's show made him want to return to radio. Evans was then hired by Virgin Radio to host its breakfast show, prompting an immediate upsurge in station listening figures of 1.8 million to 2.6 million. His first show was on 13 October 1997, the same day as Kevin Greening and Zoë Ball on Radio 1. Starting at 7:00 am, Evans's crew presented
1358-458: A home for his daughter and an allowance to Ward. On 9 January 2015, Evans became a grandfather when Jade gave birth to her son. Evans married Carol McGiffin in 1991. Their 1993 break up was not amicable and the two divorced in 1998. McGiffin was scathing about Evans in newspaper articles as late as 2003. During his time at BBC Radio 1 and Virgin, Evans had well publicised relationships with Kim Wilde , model Rachel Tatton-Brown (whose sister
1455-456: A major impact on the charts. Coyle later took part in the nineteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2019, being the eighth contestant to be voted out. Consequently, Roberts now writes for friend and former bandmate, Cheryl. Roberts also created Dainty Doll, a make-up range aimed at fair-skinned individuals like herself. She has become vocal in her support of laws preventing minors from using sunbeds, in addition to highlighting
1552-471: A nationwide tour of TV and radio stations to promote their singles. On 22 December 2002, the final episode of series, entitled The Christmas No. 1 Showdown , was a live show to reveal which of the two groups (if either) had made it to number one in the UK Singles Chart . The show linked up with Neil Fox at the Pepsi Chart Show studios around halfway through the programme, where he ran down
1649-516: A new challenge, releasing the salaries of those at the BBC earning more than £150,000 had been a contributing factor in Evans's leaving. A month later, Evans confirmed live on air that Zoe Ball would replace him on the show from January 2019. The show officially ended on 24 December 2018. Evans moved to Virgin with most of his Radio 2 team including sports reporter Vassos Alexander and Rachel Horne who provides regular news bulletins expanded her role as
1746-497: A peak of 2.7 million to 1.7 million, had pruned Evans's "zoo" team and installed a music policy which replaced more eclectic choices with a strict diet of chart pop. As a result, on 20 June Evans was followed throughout the day by tabloid newspaper photographers, and undertook an "18-hour bender" which started after his show at 9.30 in the morning, and ended – after numerous pints of Kronenbourg and Guinness , plus five bottles of Dom Pérignon – with Evans asleep in front of
1843-624: A posse including friend "Big" Pete Winterbottom and newsreader Andrew Peach . Evans told listeners to his first show: "We've had a couple of test drives over the summer and we've decided to take it. Yes, we like this vehicle." The show was well received by listeners and critics, and Evans was announced as the successor to Radio 2's Drive time show on 2 March 2006, succeeding long-time host Johnnie Walker , beginning on 18 April. RAJAR audience figures published in August 2006 showed Evans had 150,000 fewer listeners than his predecessor's last show but
1940-423: A producer on Emma Freud 's mid-morning show, then on Weekend Breakfast with Danny Baker . Owing to his success working on both shows, Evans was offered a producer role at BBC Radio 1 , but was persuaded to stay at GLR after station controller Matthew Bannister gave him the chance to present his own show, taking over Saturday afternoons in early 1990. Three months later, he started presenting The Greenhouse ,
2037-473: A star. Soon he was able to dictate highly favourable terms, allowing him to broadcast on competing radio and TV stations. Slots like Radio 1 Breakfast and TFI Friday provided a mix of celebrity interviews, music and comic games, delivered in an irreverent style that attracted high ratings, though often also generated significant numbers of complaints. By 2000 he was the UK's highest paid entertainer, according to
SECTION 20
#17328018487982134-496: A three-year deal to lead a new Top Gear line-up and presented a revival series of TFI Friday . On 4 July 2016, he announced that he would be stepping down as presenter of Top Gear . On 3 September 2018, he announced that he would be leaving The Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Christmas Eve, and would be going to Virgin Radio UK to present its breakfast show. He moved from BBC Radio 2 with most of his regular team. Evans
2231-480: A three-year hiatus, Girls Aloud reunited to celebrate their tenth anniversary as a band. They released the single " Something New ", which donated proceeds to Children in Need , and the greatest hits anthology Ten . In 2013, the group embarked on Ten - The Hits Tour 2013 . This was the band's final tour before they permanently went their separate ways, announcing their split online just moments after their final show of
2328-461: A way to help boost the self-esteem, confidence, and assurance of youth. Some communities and companies see talent shows as a way to help prevent juvenile delinquency among children, teens, and young adults. As a result, these communities create programs such as Girls Only! in San Diego to promote the growth of these otherwise trouble youth to better the community. Such programs are created with
2425-416: Is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing , dancing , lip-syncing , acting , martial arts , playing an instrument , poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills . Many talent shows are performances rather than contests, but some are actual contests. In the instance of a contest, participants may be motivated to perform for a reward, trophy, or prize of some kind. For example,
2522-686: The Sunday Times Rich List . In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest-paid presenter, earning between £2.2m and £2.25m annually. In 2005, he started a new career on BBC Radio 2 , hosting his long-running Drivetime programme in April 2006, before moving in 2010 to host The Chris Evans Breakfast Show every weekday morning. He presented The One Show on Fridays between 2010 and 2015. Between 2011 and 2018, he co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park . In 2015, Evans signed
2619-638: The 63rd British Academy Film Awards for MTV . Musically, Walsh has featured on Aggro Santos 's " Like U Like ". In 2012 Walsh made her West End theatre debut, playing Princess Fiona in the London production of Shrek the Musical . Walsh has also modelled for the fashion chain New Look , Schwarzkopf hair products, and Puma AG . In 2012, Walsh took part in series ten of Strictly Come Dancing , finishing as runner-up to Louis Smith . In 2012, after
2716-501: The BAFTA award-winning School of Hard Knocks for 4 Learning. Following two high-profile shows which failed to perform in the ratings, UMTV hired Terry Wogan and Evans's former Big Breakfast co-host Gaby Roslin to host a weekday morning magazine show, The Terry and Gaby Show . Evans said publicly that if this show failed he would set up a market stall. Despite critical acclaim the audience numbers never took off and Channel 5 axed
2813-652: The Breakfast Show to be produced independently by Evans's Ginger company, rather than in-house by BBC Radio. Allowed to create the "zoo" format he had previously been disallowed from performing on Radio 1, Evans was given a free rein by his friend, the station's controller Matthew Bannister. Critics hated innuendo -laden features like Honk Your Horn and in Bed with Your Girlfriend, but Evans put on 600,000 new listeners over Steve Wright – one for every £ 5 spent on salary and advertising. The effect also flowed through into
2910-604: The Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Chart . Girls Aloud won and went on to nearly achieve 20 consecutive top-ten hits (interrupted only by 2007 promotional single Theme To St Trinian's ), including four number ones, and six top-ten albums, two of which reached number one. Group member Cheryl has achieved five solo number-one singles and two number-one albums. Popstars The Rivals aired on ITV1 on Saturday nights from 7 September 2002, beginning with three pre-recorded episodes of preliminary audition rounds before switching to live broadcasts of studio performances. During
3007-553: The Lowry Hotel in Manchester a week later. This was in response to the massive demand of the original Popstars series which had seen thousands turned away due to time restraints. Just two of the hopefuls advanced from the London open auditions. The open auditions were broadcast across 3 episodes. Around 100 contestants made it through to the next round of the competition. The 102 remaining contestants had to travel to London for
Popstars: The Rivals - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-605: The Red Button on digital television remote controls . Each week, the singer with the fewest public votes would be eliminated from the competition until five men and five women remained, who would then form the two rival groups. Elements of Channel 4 's Big Brother were used in Popstars: The Rivals when the final ten boys and final ten girls moved into two houses and lived together, watched by television cameras. Initial auditions began on 9 August 2002 at
3201-497: The Spice Girls and later had a career as a solo popstar; and Chris Evans , who had presented breakfast shows on BBC Radio 1 and Virgin Radio , and The Big Breakfast and TFI Friday on Channel 4 . Evans later decided not to appear, and after approaching Sharon Osbourne , producers chose Louis Walsh , a music manager who had represented Boyzone , Samantha Mumba , Ronan Keating and Westlife , and who had judged on
3298-640: The Wembley Conference Centre in London. and continued in a number of cities around the United Kingdom. This stage of the competition was broadcast over three episodes, with auditions taking place in London, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester. Most contestants were invited to audition after sending in video tapes of themselves singing, but open auditions were also held at Wembley Conference Centre in Wembley , London on 9 August 2002 and at
3395-592: The " zoo " format, allegedly because Steve Wright was already doing that on the station. In April 1993, Evans left GLR and joined the new Virgin Radio , to host a Saturday morning show. Evans's departure from radio was in part so he could devote his time to the new Channel 4 breakfast television show, The Big Breakfast , from 28 September 1992. He co-hosted the show with Gaby Roslin . Evans left The Big Breakfast on 29 September 1994 and formed his own television production company, Ginger Productions . Its first major programme, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush ,
3492-409: The 1990s, Evans's attempts at a TV comeback in the 21st century have been mixed with a record of poor ratings and cancellations, including falling viewing figures for his recent role as co-host of Friday editions of The One Show . In November and December 2005 Evans presented OFI Sunday on ITV . In a move described by Private Eye as Partridgean , ex-wife Billie Piper was the first guest on
3589-550: The 2001 Irish edition of Popstars as the third judge. The series was presented by Davina McCall , who had hosted the Popstars finale in 2001, and also hosted Big Brother , God's Gift , Streetmate and Don't Try This at Home as well as hosting the Brit Awards in 2000 and 2003. Former Another Level singer Dane Bowers and former Popstars and Pop Idol contestant Hayley Evetts presented Popstars: The Rivals Extra on ITV2 . Popstars The Rivals drew on
3686-453: The BBC announced that Evans had signed a three-year deal to be the main presenter on the BBC Two motoring show Top Gear , following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , and James May . On his radio show the next morning he confirmed his acceptance and explained the offer came after James May and Richard Hammond had confirmed to the BBC they would not be returning to
3783-820: The Dark' for a time. In 2011, Harding went to rehab for alcohol and prescription drug abuse. She also appeared in the ITV soap Coronation Street in 2015 for a guest stint of five episodes, as well as taking part in the BBC gymnastics show Tumble in 2014, finishing as runner-up, and also participated in the Channel 4 winter sports show The Jump in 2016, where she was forced to withdraw after four weeks due to injury. Harding also took part in Celebrity Big Brother in August 2017, which she won. Meanwhile, Walsh co-hosted Viva 's Suck My Pop and presented coverage of
3880-483: The UK's commercial radio stations, and also The BRIT Awards in 2005 and 2006. From April 2005, Evans presented a number of one-off Bank holiday shows for BBC Radio 2 , including coverage of the Live 8 concert in London . Evans then joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis in September 2005, presenting a weekly Saturday afternoon show from 14:00 to 17:00. His first show featured singer Robbie Williams , and accompanied by
3977-409: The aim of specialising in live, cutting-edge, entertainment programming. Over the next 3 years UMTV produced more than 375 hours of television, with mixed success. TV shows included Boys and Girls hosted by Vernon Kay for Channel 4, Johnny Vegas : 18 Stone of Idiot for Channel 4 / E4 ; OFI Sunday for ITV ; Live with Christian O'Connell and Live with Chris Moyles for Five ; and
Popstars: The Rivals - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-593: The assistance of investors, Evans's vehicle Ginger Media Group bought Virgin Radio from Branson for £85m, to control the interests both of Ginger Productions and Virgin Radio. Both Apax Partners and Branson each owned 20% of Ginger Media Group, while Evans and his investors owned the remaining 60%. The group later engaged in the prospect of buying the Daily Star newspaper, but decided against from commercial angles. Virgin Radio's new programme controller Paul Jackson, in light of audience figures which had dropped from
4171-537: The award, Evans thanked the BBC for giving him "a second chance." Evans won 'music radio personality' the following year, while his show won the Entertainment award. "I didn't expect this," he said. "I wouldn't have minded if I didn't win, but I really love the fact I have won." Evans was voted the 82nd most influential media personality in The Guardian newspaper's 2007 poll. Following his success in
4268-402: The band, and Chris was eliminated. Results: Cheryl Tweedy was announced as the first member of the band, followed by Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle and Kimberley Walsh, leaving Javine Hylton and Sarah Harding as the bottom two. Davina revealed that Sarah was the final member of the band, and Javine was eliminated. After the two bands had been formed, three further episodes were broadcast as
4365-472: The beginning which eventually falls prey to boredom and shiftlessness." Beginning to think he was indispensable at Radio 1, the first big falling-out with management came in December 1995 after taking his crew out on a 17-hour pub-crawl which ended two hours before they were due on air: Evans was fined one day's pay, £7,000. In 1996, broadcasting watchdogs investigated a continual trail of complaints against
4462-430: The bootcamp stage, where they were met by Davina McCall. With only 50 places available in the next round, the judges had tough decisions to make. The contestants were put through various workshops to test both their singing and dancing abilities. All contestants were able to choose a song to perform, while choreographers judged them on their dancing. After two days of the workshop, 52 contestants failed to progress and left
4559-400: The boys' team were: Rufus Hound , Charley Boorman , Sam Branson (son of Richard Branson) and Jonah Lomu . On the girls' team were Jenny Frost , Kacey Ainsworth , Sarah Jayne Dunn and Dame Kelly Holmes . Holmes won the girls'; Boorman won the boys' and the show outright. In February 2011, it was reported that the show had been axed after one series due to poor ratings. On 16 June 2015,
4656-501: The broadcasting watchdog for a tasteless joke about Holocaust victim Anne Frank , Evans countered with an item about haemorrhoids . Asked by Bannister to watch the rules, Evans the next day branded Bannister " The Fat Controller ". In November, Evans announced on air that he was medically unfit to be on the radio – Bannister re-negotiated his contract to double his holiday to twice that of other Radio 1 DJs. After more publicised public drinking and self-confessed illness, Evans's spell at
4753-525: The climax by all of the contestants who had participated in the live shows. After the success of their first single "Sound of the Underground", Girls Aloud spent five months recording the follow-up single and their debut album. Sound of the Underground was released in May 2003, reaching number two on the UK Albums Chart . Over the next five years, Girls Aloud released four additional studio albums and
4850-492: The competition. 13-year-old Stephanie McMichael was eliminated after producers discovered she had lied about her age and was below the age limit. The final 50 were next reduced to 30 through another series of workshops. Pete Waterman mentored the boys, Louis Walsh oversaw the girls and Geri Halliwell acted as an intermediary between the two groups. After much deliberation, the judges called contestants to see them individually and deliver their verdicts. The last two episodes before
4947-518: The dangers of tanning in a BBC Three documentary Nicola Roberts: The Truth About Tanning . In 2010, she filmed a guest appearance on Britain's Next Top Model . She continued her television work by appearing as a judge on the Rihanna -produced series Styled to Rock in 2012. In 2020, Roberts took part in the first series of the UK version of The Masked Singer , which she won as "Queen Bee". In August 2020, Roberts performed The Captive's Hymn at
SECTION 50
#17328018487985044-403: The duration of the new series, Evans had received strong criticism due to his presenting style. In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest paid presenter, earning between £2.2 million and £2.25 million. Evans has a daughter, Jade (born 1986), by former fiancée Alison Ward. In 1998, after a long-running dispute, the couple reached an out-of-court arrangement whereby Evans provided
5141-653: The executive producer of Pop Idol and American Idol , although he initially expressed an interest in appearing. Chapman also went to 19, where she managed the careers of Pop Idol winner and runner-up Will Young and Gareth Gates . Adam turned down the opportunity to return as he was too busy working as a music executive at RCA Records . The judges for Popstars: The Rivals were announced as record producer and songwriter Pete Waterman , who worked with Kylie Minogue , Jason Donovan , Rick Astley and Steps amongst others as part of 1980–90s production trio Stock Aitken Waterman , Geri Halliwell , who rose to fame as part of
5238-486: The final three years of his secondary education. Evans left secondary school aged 16 after moving into the sixth form, and then had a number of dead-end jobs in and around Warrington , including at a private detective agency and, notoriously, as a " Tarzan -ogram". Evans began his professional career at Piccadilly Radio , Manchester, in 1983, where he had previously had unpaid schoolboy work. Until 1984 Evans had three jobs: as an assistant to Timmy Mallett , and playing
5335-452: The final, the six remaining male and female singers performed. Five of the boys formed One True Voice and five of the girls formed Girls Aloud . The first live show was broadcast on ITV on 12 October 2002. The live final took place over two weeks, a couple of weeks before Christmas on 23 November for the boys and 30 November for the girls. Category performing: Boys Bottom three: Jamie Shaw, Chris Park and Andrew Kinlochan received
5432-443: The girls who did not make the final 10, took Kaneswaren's place for the live shows. A special half-hour episode was broadcast on 6 October 2002 to show these changes, with Geri Halliwell informing Hazel of her elimination and Louis Walsh inviting Kimberley back onto the show. Nicola Roberts , who also failed to make it through, replaced 19-year-old Nicola Ward, who quit the show over what she considered "exploitation" of contestants by
5529-494: The hope to prevent youth from the possibilities of entering delinquency or lives of crime. Chris Evans (presenter) Christopher James Evans (born 1 April 1966 ) is an English television presenter, radio DJ and producer for radio and television. He started his broadcasting career working for Piccadilly Radio , Manchester, as a teenager, before moving to London as a presenter for the BBC's BBC Radio London and then Channel 4 television, where The Big Breakfast made him
5626-677: The listening figures for later programmes. The audience grew as the breakfast format became more outrageous: humiliating assistant Holly Samos by repeatedly asking her about her sex life (Evans and Samos were reportedly in a relationship at periods through their time working together), and encouraging two female guests to perform a strip show on live radio. The show's highest listening figure reached 7.5 million. Evans began making editions of Channel 4's TFI Friday from 1996. The show – devised, produced and hosted by Evans through his Ginger Media company – combined celebrity interviews, musical guests and daft games and competitions. Largely based on
5723-714: The live shows saw the final 30 being reduced to a final 20, with five boys and five girls failing to make the cut. The three judges were assigned contestants to visit separately in their respective homes and deliver the good or bad news of whether they had reached the live finals. The remaining contestants would move into a house together for the live stages of the competition. The ten eliminated acts were: Boys – Justin Webb, Sean Haven, Owen Doyle, Jacob Thompson, Jeremy Medcalf Girls – Kimberley Walsh , Pollyanna Woodward , Nicola Roberts , Annika Gavitas, Charlie Houston Ten men and ten women finalists were chosen to perform in
5820-457: The live shows. There was some controversy as one of the original finalists, Hazel Kaneswaran , was forced to pull out of the show because she was 10 days too old at the time of the auditions. The show had an age limit of 24 and Hazel had just turned 25. Her situation was further complicated by the fact that she was eight months pregnant. She had the baby in October 2002. Kimberley Walsh , one of
5917-413: The lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom four. Sarah and Kimberley were told that they were safe, leaving Aimee and Cheryl in the bottom two. Aimee was eliminated. Results: Keith Semple was announced as the first member of the band, followed by Matt Johnson, Daniel Pearce and Anton Gordon, leaving Chris Park and Jamie Shaw as the bottom two. Davina revealed that Jamie was the final member of
SECTION 60
#17328018487986014-415: The lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom three. Jamie was told that he was safe, leaving Andrew and Chris in the bottom two. Andrew was eliminated. Category performing: Girls Bottom three : Emma Beard, Kimberley Walsh and Lynsey Brown received the lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom three. Kimberley was told that she was safe, leaving Lynsey and Emma in the bottom two. Lynsey
6111-464: The lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom two. Chloe was eliminated. Category performing: Boys Bottom three : Anton Gordon, Matt Johnson and Mikey Green received the lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom three. Anton was told that he was safe, leaving Matt and Mikey in the bottom two. Mikey was eliminated. Category performing: Girls Bottom four: Aimee Kearsley, Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding received
6208-426: The lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom two. Nikk was eliminated. Category performing: Girls Bottom four: The girls were split into two groups and were told that one girl would be eliminated from each group. From group one, Cheryl Tweedy and Emma Beard received the lowest number of votes and ended up in the bottom two. Emma was eliminated. From group two, Chloe Staines and Kimberley Walsh received
6305-570: The main show, Popstars: The Rivals Extra aired on both ITV2 after the main ITV1 show on Saturdays and also as a teatime show on ITV1 during the week. Both versions of the show were presented by pop star Dane Bowers and Pop Idol finalist Hayley Evetts . On the judging panel, neither Nigel Lythgoe , Paul Adam nor Nicki Chapman , the three judges from the first series of Popstars , returned for Popstars: The Rivals . Lythgoe had left ITV to work with Simon Fuller at 19 Entertainment and become
6402-408: The producers. * as of week 1 (boys) and week 2 (girls) The live shows took on a format where the girls and boys performed on alternate weeks. After the performances had ended the public voted via telephone or the red button to save their favourite act. The live shows were broadcast in two parts, with the performances in the first episode and the results in the second. In the initial episodes,
6499-620: The programme. OFI Sunday was cancelled after just five shows following poor reviews and low viewing figures. Its cancellation led Evans to complain on air during his Saturday BBC Radio 2 slot that he no longer knew how to be successful on television. In 2009 Evans narrated the CBeebies Christmas pantomime. In 2010, it was announced that Evans would be replacing Adrian Chiles as the Friday co-presenter of The One Show on BBC One . Chiles and then co-host Christine Bleakley left
6596-451: The rounds of the live show, viewers voted for their favourite performers by telephone and the Red Button on digital television remote controls . In the final weeks, five women and five men were chosen by viewers to form the two groups, boy band One True Voice and girl group Girls Aloud . The final episode of Popstars: The Rivals aired live on 22 December 2002. During the broadcast, Pepsi Chart Show presenter Neil Fox revealed in
6693-438: The sale of Ginger Media Group to Scottish Media Group for £225 million. The sale made Evans the highest-paid entertainer in the UK in 2000, estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to have been paid around £35.5 million. Following poor reviews of TFI Friday , and Evans himself handing over presentation of the last series of the show to a series of "friends", the show was cancelled in December 2000. Evans continued to host
6790-445: The second time shortly after it had been announced that they had reached number one. The show also featured special performances from both The Cheeky Girls and from Hazel Kaneswaran, who had to leave the competition before the live shows after she was over the age limit. One True Voice and Girls Aloud also sang a special group version of " Winter Wonderland " and closed the series with a group performance of " White Christmas ", joined at
6887-450: The show after its year-long run, citing its high cost as a reason. True to his word, Evans was pictured at the end of the final show with a market stall and later he opened it for real at Stables Market , Camden . Evans re-entered public life in early 2005, presenting the breakfast slot of UK Radio Aid 's day of programming for the victims of the Asian tsunami , which was aired on most of
6984-541: The show at the end of the year. Evans hosted his final drivetime show on Christmas Eve 2009. Evans took over the Radio 2 breakfast show on 11 January 2010, succeeding Sir Terry Wogan. The show was originally 30 minutes longer than the Wogan incarnation and began at 07:00, but following the departure of Sarah Kennedy from early breakfast, the show was extended by another 30 minutes and began at 06:30. The show always ended with
7081-417: The show from Monday to Friday, but without Evans on a Friday. As Richard Branson had decided to reduce his media holding, he began talks to sell the station to Capital Radio in a deal that would have given him 10% of holding company Capital Group . As this became public knowledge, Evans, who did not want to work for Capital, publicly dismissed them as "a bleating, blowing asthmatic dog." On 9 December, with
7178-536: The show to join ITV . Evans presented the show on Fridays with Alex Jones , and occasionally covered other weekdays. Matt Baker presented the show on a regular Monday to Thursday basis. In 2015, Evans announced he was quitting The One Show to focus on Top Gear . In January 2011 Evans returned to Channel 4 to present a new reality show Famous and Fearless , in which eight celebrities were arranged into two teams, 'Boys' and 'Girls'. The celebrities taking part on
7275-434: The show's official website or by calling premium-rate telephone numbers . In the months since Popstars finished, the five runners-up of the show had formed their own group, Liberty X , and were enjoying more commercial success than Hear’Say. The British media had also begun to create a rivalry between the two groups. The Popstars producers drew upon this rivalry for Popstars: The Rivals to create two winning pop groups,
7372-539: The show's travel expert. Ellie Davis leads the show as Executive Producer and producer Meera Depala is also part of the team. Supporting Davis are David Brain (Producer) and Jayne Cheeseman (Assistant Producer) who produced the previous breakfast show on Virgin Radio. In May 2006, Evans was named Music Radio Personality of the Year at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards , defeating rivals Jamie Theakston , Lauren Laverne , Marc Riley and Tim Lovejoy to win. When accepting
7469-449: The show. Evans stated that before the announcement, he sent texts to May, Hammond and Clarkson and received supportive replies from all three. In February 2016, it was confirmed that Matt LeBlanc , Rory Reid , Sabine Schmitz , Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan would also be joining Evans for the twenty third series of Top Gear . It was also revealed that the new series would begin airing in May 2016. On 14 March 2000, Evans agreed to
7566-434: The show: Radio 1 refused to comment, and Evans never apologised. Evans also made increasing public demands of the Radio 1 management: after taking an extra week of unplanned holiday, Evans chose to turn up half an hour late for his 06:30 show and then demanded that his hours were changed so that it was a permanent fixture – this request was accepted. However, following the summer break things got decidedly worse. Criticised by
7663-541: The station ended in January 1997 when he quit after his demand not to host the show on Friday (to have a full day getting ready for his TV show) was not accepted. The Radio 1 Breakfast Show was taken over by Mark and Lard ( Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley ). Ratings fell significantly and they were replaced after eight months with the relatively unknown Kevin Greening and the well-known children's TV presenter Zoe Ball . Their tenure started on 13 October 1997. During
7760-463: The station's breakfast show, but echoes of his earlier dismissal from Radio 1 began to emerge. In May 2000, the station was fined £75,000 (then the largest penalty imposed by the Radio Authority ) for his repeated on-air endorsement of Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral elections . The first episode of the new six-episode series of Top Gear was broadcast 29 May 2016. In June 2016 it
7857-408: The success of the first series of Popstars , which aired during early 2001, and Pop Idol , which aired in the winter months of 2001–2002. Popstars resulted in the formation of one winning pop group , Hear’Say , who was selected solely by the judges, but Pop Idol made extensive use of viewer interactivity with the home audience voting for their favourite act to win the competition either via
7954-405: The successful formula of his radio show, it was initially a big success. However, as the success of both shows peaked, combined with a string of celebrity relationships and highly publicised nights drinking with friends Danny Baker and Paul Gascoigne , the strain began to show, and a model emerged described as a "template for his approach to all his subsequent projects – an abundance of enthusiasm at
8051-478: The temperament of a prima donna." Virgin Radio/SMG later countersued, with Evans ordered to pay £1m towards their legal costs. In his autobiography, Evans writes that shortly after the sale of Virgin Radio he was offered £56m for his SMG shares by Goldman Sachs. He declined the offer and eventually sold them for £250,000. In August 2002 Chris Evans set up a radio and television production company, UMTV, with
8148-411: The three contestants with the lowest number of votes made up a bottom three. One was immediately told they were safe and the other two had a nervous wait before one was saved and the other left the competition. In weeks 3 and 4, two contestants were eliminated from each category. The person who was knocked out had to sing again at the end of the show after seeing a montage of their competition journey. In
8245-484: The top 10 singles before revealing the act that had charted highest. Girls Aloud were the lucky ones, reaching number one with first week sales of around 213,000. One True Voice went straight in at number two having sold close to 137,000 copies, while another Popstars: The Rivals act, The Cheeky Girls charted at number three. "Sound of the Underground" remained at number one for four weeks in total, stretching into 2003. The girls performed their new single live together for
8342-608: The top position on the UK Singles Chart. Cheryl became the first British female solo artist to have five number-one singles in the UK, and held the record for the British female solo artist with the most UK number-one singles until 2018. Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts also released solo material. Coyle released her debut album Insatiable through a partnership with Tesco in November 2010, while Roberts released Cinderella's Eyes in 2011. Both albums failed to make
8439-584: The tour in Liverpool. Sarah Harding was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in August 2020, and revealed in March 2021 that her prognosis was terminal and that she would not see another Christmas. Harding passed away on 5 September 2021, aged 39. In July 2022, the rest of the band came back together to participate in a 5km Race for Life event in her memory at Hyde Park in London. Cheryl, Roberts and Coyle took part in person, with Walsh taking part remotely. Talent show A talent show, or talent contest
8536-472: The two rival bands battled it out for the coveted Christmas Number One. On 7 December 2002, a live show featured both bands premiering their debut singles. One True Voice released the double A-side " Sacred Trust/After You're Gone ", whilst Girls Aloud released " Sound of the Underground " as their song. On 14 December, a pre-recorded episode was aired, going behind the scenes of both band's first official few weeks together, filming their music videos and undergoing
8633-524: Was a breast cancer survivor. He passed the Eleven-Plus exam and started at Boteler Grammar School , Warrington. After the death of his father on Wednesday, 24 April 1979, the 13-year-old Evans took part-time work at an outlet of T. J. & B. McLoughlin's newsagent– tobacconist in Woolston , and ran an alternative tuck-shop at Padgate High School , which was a comprehensive school he attended for
8730-733: Was born in Warrington , England, the youngest child of bookmaker and health authority wages clerk Martin Joseph Evans (12 November 1921 – 25 April 1979), and Minnie Beardsall (1926–2018), who managed a corner shop. His siblings are brother David (born 1953) and sister Diane (born 1963). He started his schooling at St Margaret's Church of England Infants and Junior School, and later the Junior School in Orford, Warrington . Evans's father died of colorectal cancer , and his mother
8827-449: Was broadcast between 1994 and 1995. The original concepts proved to be lucrative for Evans as its format was sold to numerous foreign broadcasters. In April 1995, Evans returned to radio to host the flagship Radio 1 Breakfast Show . Evans negotiated into his contract with Radio 1 a clause allowing him to still make television programmes, and specifically an option to make a Friday night programme for Channel 4. A further clause required
8924-412: Was eliminated. Category performing: Boys *Note: Two of the male contestants were due to be eliminated via the public vote in this show. However, during the results show, Peter Smith announced that he was too old to be involved in the competition and left the show. This meant that only one of the singers would be voted out by the television audience. Bottom two : Chris Park and Nikk Mager received
9021-513: Was on par with previous years. The second set of RAJAR's published in October 2006 showed his audience was up by 109,000-year-on-year, and up by 33,000 compared with the previous quarter. Figures showed he was drawing an average audience of 4.9 million a day on his drivetime show. By the end of 2007, the show was averaging over five million listeners. On 7 September 2009 it was announced that Evans would take over breakfast show from Sir Terry Wogan after Wogan announced his intention to leave
9118-410: Was producer to presenter James H. Reeve . Following this he presented a weekday graveyard slot with competitions and segments where listeners had opportunities to sell their belongings on air. After working as a producer on Richard Branson 's service The Superstation , where he produced material for Jonathan Ross , Evans went on to work at the newly launched BBC Greater London Radio , first as
9215-682: Was replaced in June 2011 by Vassos Alexander ), and travel reporter Lynn Bowles . Features included The Gobsmackers (two songs selected by a listener that sound good played back-to-back). On 3 September 2018, Evans announced live on air that he would be leaving the show and the station in December for Virgin Radio . On 11 September the BBC Director General Lord Hall of Birkenhead told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that, as well as wanting
9312-443: Was reported that fellow presenter Matt LeBlanc had threatened to quit the show unless Evans was fired, because of inappropriate behaviour on set. The source alleged that Evans had become jealous of the attention the other presenters were getting and had become distanced from the group. On 4 July 2016 Evans announced that he had stepped down as presenter of the show and cut his contract with Top Gear short by two years. Throughout
9409-457: Was unfairly dismissed and denied share options worth £8.6 million. On 26 June 2003, in the judgement of Evans v SMG Television Ltd. & Ors 2003 EWHC 1423 (Ch), Justice Lightman found that he had been fairly dismissed and was not entitled to the share options. Giving his ruling at the High Court , Evans was publicly criticised for his attitude by the judge, who said of Evans: "He has
#797202