Glasgow-born Pop Idol contestant Darius Danesh has died at the age of 41, his family have announced.
Also known as a west end star and theatre regular, Darius found fame in 2001 after his appearance on the hit ITV show.
The Scottish singer was found in his US apartment in Minnesota on Monday, August 11. His cause of death still remains unknown.
READ MORE: Glasgow star Darius Danesh found dead in US apartment as family confirm Pop Idol star's passing
Darius first shot to fame after he appeared on TV show Popstars and a year later, he batted off criticism from the haters of his rendition of '...Baby One More Time' on Popstars and appeared on Pop Idol.
He came runner up to now-famous singers Will Young and Gareth Gates - but turned down a lucrative deal from Simon Cowell to work on his own music. He also had a successful West End career and became known for his theatre work.
Here we take a look back at Darius' life through Pop Stars, Pop Idol and beyond.
Humble beginnings
Darius first shot to fame after he appeared on TV show Popstars, the show that fuelled the successes of Hear'Say and Liberty X, who were winners and runners up in the first season.
A year later, Darius batted off criticism from the haters of his rendition of '...Baby One More Time' on Popstars and appeared on Pop Idol.
He came runner up to now-famous singers Will Young and Gareth Gates - but turned down a lucrative deal from Simon Cowell to work on his own music.
The singer produced five top 10 singles, and had a number one hit with Colourblind, and sold a platinum debut album, Dive In.
Love and Loss
Glasgow-born Darius married Canadian actress Natasha Henstridge at the young age of 22 after he moved to the United States, and became a loving step-father to her two sons.
He later split from Natasha after a 12-year relationship, with the now 41-year-old noting they were very on and off during the marriage.
He previously has said: "That relationship was certainly not without its ups and downs. Over the course of 12 years, we broke up many times and had a period of six months apart.
"It was often a long-distance relationship for half of it. That in itself was an amazing experience, but a painful one. When you love someone you want to be with them."
Darius went through a "grieving period" after the split, adding: "You see, you don’t break up with one person, you break up with three. And in some ways, it’s like a death."
Health miracle runs in the family
Also during the time of his split Darius was dealt another blow as his dad, Dr Booth Danesh, a gastroenterologist, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a three-month prognosis.
In 2015, his GP mum, Avril Campbell Danesh, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Miraculously, they both recovered, as chemotherapy and radiotherapy curing Dr Booth of stage 4 lymphoma that had spread to his bone marrow.
After being diagnosed with arthiritis, Dr Danesh had a scan that revealed a tumour the size of a large orange in his pelvis that had spread to his bone marrow.
As chemo shrunk the tumour, Darius' dad was placed in remission - but not before another scare as in July 2004, his heart stopped and restarted again.
A decade later, mum Avril found a lump in her breast and also underwent a gruelling course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on top of surgery.
Darius said at the time: "Mum’s illness was very serious – she had a lump in her neck too. It wasn’t good and at one point, we thought we might lose her but she came back.
“My parents are the most amazing, inspiring people. Both my parents have been very lucky to have faced death and survived.
“I love them both so much, I’m so thankful they are still here and they are both so inspiring for me.”
Darius had his own health scare in 2017 after he collapsed into a near-fatal coma due to drinking dirty water from the River Thames.
The musician had been demonstrating water filter bottle tops for the Fresh2o safe drinking charity when he fell ill.
He developed meningitis and was fighting for his life with swelling on the brain, as the filter he had used was the dummy version and not the real thing.
Speaking on the ordeal, Darius said: "I drank the water for the video and raised the funds but, when I went to Glasgow to see my mum for her birthday, I collapsed.
“It turned out I had a cerebral oedema where your brain swells bigger than your skull. Dad saved my life. He got me to the hospital. They diagnosed it quickly.”
His mum Avril, who was going through treatment at the time, kept a bedside vigil after he lapsed into a coma.
Darius added: “As I came out of the coma, I remember my mum sitting beside the bed.
“It felt upside down and wrong because my mum was going through cancer treatment. Yet she was next to me with tears in her eyes telling my brother that they almost lost me.”
The star said: “My illness knocked me off my feet and I was bed-bound for three months and picked up a new respect for what my parents went through.”
Unusual friendships
Back in 2019, Darius was spotted strolling through Italy with actress Rebel Wilson in tow.
The Australian actress, 39, looked happy and relaxed as she headed out arm-in-arm with the ex Pop Idol star.
It is likely the singer met Rebel through work, as he works as a producer.
Big work commitments
As well as his producer work, Darius is an ambassador for the Prince's Trust - a charity that helps disadvantaged young people, and previously helped jointly raise £300,000 for the organisation.
Darius has had a successful West End career, starring in Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Gone With The Wind, From Here to Eternity and alongside Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl in 2016.
Splitting his time between Scotland and LA, Darius worked on the Daniel Radcliffe terrorism thriller Imperium in 2016, and then Tomorrow in 2018.
He also produced a documentary called Fountain of Youth and was an executive producer on the horror flick House Red in 2018.
Our thoughts are with Darius' family following the sad news of his passing. More to follow when we have it.
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