Michelle McManus in tears after Pop Idol appearance criticism
Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus shocked viewers of Tuesday’s Loose Women with her stunning transformation.
The Scottish star appeared on the ITV daytime show to mark the fact that it is almost 20 years since she won the TV talent show, which was hosted by Ant and Dec.
Sporting flaming red hair that fell in soft waves around her shoulders rather than the bob-length brunette cut she wore when she first came to public attention, she also seemed to have abandoned the trademark head-to-toe black that she wore during her Pop Idol tenure wearing a flattering pale blue button down blouse and pleated leather skirt.
Michelle won the second and final series of Pop Idol on December 20, 2003 beating Mark Rhodes.
Having received a £1million recording contract as part of her prize, her debut single, All This Time, went straight in at number one in the charts in January 2004.
READ MORE: I’m A Celebrity’s Tony Bellew in four letter word rant as he faces frogs
As she reflected on the win today fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to remark on how well she looked.
A user with the handle @MrH1987 wrote: “F*** Michelle McManus is on loose women with red hair @LadyM_McManus.” @tommcurzon said: “Michelle McManus is in her Rihanna 2010 era #LooseWomen.”
@ChantalMascoe approved of the new look chiming in: “#Loosewomen Michelle looking lovely love the hair and lashes.”
@BenjiBoyO2 exclaimed: “OMG! MICHELLE MCMANUS IS ON LOOSE WOMEN!!!!! Breathe BREATHE Breathe!!!!!!! @LadyM_McManus.”
Meanwhile @Tacjones3Tracy had a suggestion for the show. “So lovely to see Michelle McManus back on our screens. She would be a fantastic loose woman!” she said.
Don’t miss…
The Chase’s Paul Sinha gives ‘sympathy’ to contestants as ‘everything goes wrong[WATCH]
I’m A Celebrity’s Tony Bellew in four letter word rant as he faces frogs[SPOILER]
BBC Strictly’s Layton Williams ‘knew he was in trouble’ before dance-off[INSIGHT]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
In the emotional chat, Michelle opened up about the experience of winning the singing contest and how there had been a lot of focus on her appearance, rather than just her voice.
The now 43-year-old mum-of-two said she had found a scrapbook made by her dad which contained news articles from that time which had led to her reflecting on it.
“One of the first articles that popped out said at the top ‘Can Michelle sing? Yes. Is she going to be a pop star? But come on lads, you wouldn’t would you?’” she recalled.
“And that’s where it went. I was 23,” she said explaining that in her mind she just entered a singing contest and had no idea the dialogue would end up about her appearance.
She became tearful as she remembered that she felt “such shame” over the narrative in the press at the time and she said she felt as if she had let people down.
Loose Women is on ITV weekdays at 12.30pm.
Source: Read Full Article