Former Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman was left emotional on Wednesday morning as he appeared on Good Morning Britain to pay tribute to Darius Danesh following his tragic death at the age of 41.
The former Pop Idol star was found dead in his apartment in Minnesota on August 11, his family announced in a statement on Tuesday evening. His cause of death remains unknown.
The singer and actor rose to fame on ITV talent shows Popstars and Pop Idol two decades ago, coming third on Pop Idol behind Will Young and Gareth Gates in 2002.
Former Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman appeared on the ITV programme Good Morning Britain on Wednesday to describe Darius as a “true, true gentleman in every sense of the word”.
The ITV programme played a clip of Darius performing a mash up of It's Not Unusual and Whole Again on the Pop Idol stage, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Neil Fox, Nicki Chapman and Pete.
Good Morning Britain host Rob Rinder, who hosted the programme alongside Charlotte Hawkins, said: “It’s just a tragic, tragic thing. You really celebrated his talent.”
Pete appeared emotional as he called into the ITV show from his home, saying: “He was an amazing talent. I haven’t seen that clip ever.”
He continued: “We became great friends because I did champion him. I didn’t see him on Popstars, I met him the first time in Glasgow for the audition. I thought he was an amazing talent.
“He never called me Pete, he always called me Peter. He was so polite, so talented. At 41, my heart goes out to his family, because it’s terrible losing a sibling.”
Charlotte then added: “It’s when we hear and see him in action again there, we feel like we followed his journey because we saw him come through the reality TV situation and then had Colourblind burst onto the airwaves.”
In a clip played earlier in the programme, Pete said of Darius: “He had a record career, then he was on the stage, then he took up opera, then he was making films. He was all over the place. It was quite incredible and he really was a fabulous person.”
Fellow former Pop Idol judge Neil Fox also appeared on the programme to remember Darius, saying: “He was a larger than life character, who was always very charming.
“Myself and anyone else who came into contact with him always found him very down to earth, very humble and decent guy.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
