25 Years of Popstars: Unfiltered Moments Exposed!

It was the TV talent show that launched the careers of many household names.

Yet Noughties juggernaut Popstars was very much of its time, featuring several scenes, tasks and putdowns that would no longer make it to air now.

The revolutionary 2001 show followed aspiring singers in a documentary-style series as they competed to impress judges 'Nasty' Nigel Lythgoe, Nicki Chapman and Paul Adam and be selected to form a pop group.

The winners of the series - Danny Foster, , , Suzanne Shaw and Noel Sullivan - went on to form the chart topping group Hear'Say.

Meanwhile, runners-up , Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young formed the group, Liberty X, which ultimately proved to be more successful.

Yet the journey to pop stardom was far from smooth, as Daily Mail reveals with the show's unhinged moments 25 years on. 

Kym Marsh is fat-shamed (twice)  

Before landing her role on Coronation Street, Kym Marsh soared to fame on Popstars.

Despite being part of the winning group, Hear'Say, the star was belittled and demeaned on camera, and two decades on revealed she still battles with her body image after being humiliated about her weight on the show. 

At the time, mother-of-two Kym was a healthy dress size 12, but says she battled her body image for years afterwards.

Popstars judge Nigel was filmed telling her: 'You need to lose some weight. Christmas is over and the goose has gotten fat.

'I think you've put weight on over Christmas and I think you needed to lose weight before Christmas.'

In another cruel blow, a radio presenter labelled her the 'fat one' of the group after questioning who in the Popstars house owned an 'abs blaster' workout machine. 

Kym reflected on the low blow earlier this month, telling Daily Mail's Weekend magazine: 'It was so grim, but if you look at me I’m just a normal-sized girl.

‘We were about to go on stage and I’m being made to feel insecure and unattractive. If I’d been in a different place it could have sent me on a much worse downward spiral.’

While it was only in 2016 that Kym was able to regain her body confidence after being told she had 'gotten fat'.

She told Daily Mail: 'I'd always been quite body confident until that moment but when he said that it really affected me, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. 

'I started to look at myself differently and question whether I was overweight. I started becoming far too critical of myself. My body had changed an awful lot after having children and I simply didn't have time to exercise.'

Contestant breaks her nose doing bizarre exercise 

In order to have the contestants bond before forming a group, the producers decided to have them try out a trust exercise. 

The wannabe pop stars were tasked with falling onto their peer's arms from a height in order to cement the 'trust' between them. 

Unfortunately it all went wrong when one overenthusiastic contestant launched herself face first into the pit, resulting in her breaking her nose. 

Talented singer is eliminated because of her 'looks' 

Aspiring singer Claire blew the judges away with her cover of S Club 7's Reach, but despite her powerhouse vocals, the judges were more concerned with her image. 

Debating whether to put her though, Nicki reasoned with the other judges: 'She isn't run of the mill, she doesn't look like a lot of the popstars sitting here today. I wonder how much that might have affected her?' 

Claire was quick to agree that she didn't fit the typical mold of Noughties groups, noting they were 'skinny girls, that's just my perception of girl bands.'

She continued: 'I'm not really like that... I hope they can overcome that.' 

Ultimately, Claire was sent packing, with her parting words being the knowing: 'I'm not the kind of image they're looking for.

'I knew that looking around the room, everyone was so different from me.' 

Darius is ridiculed for THAT Britney Spears routine 

Before , Darius Danesh made his first bid for fame on Popstars.

The late singer entertained the nation with his quirky rendition of Britney Spears' Baby One More Time but was mocked by the judges, with Paul musing: 'He has talent, but I'm not sure if he's the right person to fit into a five piece band or even a 100 piece band.'

Nigel added: 'To do something like he has just done there which is a complete show off that doesn't work is crazy.'

Darius then confronted the judges and asked if he would have made it through if he didn't perform Britney and after that was confirmed he vowed to have released a number one single by the time he reached 35. 

Ultimately, Darius had the last laugh and the following year appeared on the first Pop Idol, finishing in third place behind Will Young and Gareth Gates.

Judge Simon Cowell was so blown away by his talent that he still offered him a record deal but he chose to turn the music mogul down and signed with producer Steve Lillywhite.

Darius' debut single, Colourblind, was released in July 2002 and went straight to number one, marking the start of a run of top 10 releases.

He went on to launch a career in musical theatre, starring in hits such as Chicago.  

Tragically, Darius passed away in August 2022 after inhaling anesthetic drug ethyl chloride in a tragic incident. 

Contestant is eliminated for being 'too old' 

During one of the rehearsals, judge Nigel was seen barging into the room and demanding that everyone declare their age after having to ban one of the contestants who was under the age of 18. 

He then addressed the group and reiterated it was 'most important' that everyone was between the ages of 18 and 24. 

One contestant then sheepishly came forward to admit her real age and when probed by Nigel to tell him 'when do you turn 18?' there was an audible gasp when she declared she was in fact 30 years old. 

Choking back tears, she continued: 'I understand if I have to go, I took a risk', to which Nigel promptly replied: 'I'm sorry you do.' 

The group then watched on as the contestant fled the room in tears.

Nigel later confessed: 'It's heartbreaking to send any kid away because of their talent but to send them away because of their age feels even worse.'

The contestants' shoddy living conditions 

After the final five contestants were selected and Hear'Say were formed the band were moved into a new shared house to live for the duration of the recording and promotion of their first album. 

Unfortunately, the band quickly ran into difficulty, with the voiceover announcing: 'The house is still dry and the band have called a plumber', as the scene cut to footage of an exasperated plumber trying to find the root of the issue. 

Baby-faced Kym then chimed: 'The thing is this, we're supposed to be going for a photoshoot tomorrow and chances are we're not going to be able to have a shower, wash our hair, even wash our faces.' 

Cutting to her crossing her legs and waddling down the corridor, Kym wailed: 'I need to go to the toilet!' 

The band's outrageous violation of privacy 

While Iiving in their shared home, Hear'Say had their bins raided by radio station Kiss, who went on to publish the contents on their website. 

The camera then cut to the radio hosts laughing: 'Looking in their bin - alchohol tins, pizza, Abdotrim box - who's working out? Beer.' 

A shocked Suzanne was left openmouthed, saying: 'Oh my God - they really are sad!' 

The group were then quizzed about the Abdotrim box when they appeared on the radio show, with the presenter telling Kym: 'I knew it was yours because you're the fat one'.  

Suzanne Shaw is quizzed about her 'lovely breasts'

During another radio appearance, a DJ read out a letter from a listener saying: 'can you ask [Suzanne] if her breasts are real because they are lovely!' 

A shocked Suzanne laughed before cupping her chest and declaring 'they're real'. 

As she was quizzed further about 'what size' they are, Suzanne declared 'no! I won't tell you. I'll let you guess.'  

Kym Marsh is exposed for having 'secret children'