Girls Aloud sexy poster

Description: The concept of the programme, hosted by Big Brother presenter Davina McCall, was to produce a boyband and a girlband who would be 'rivals' and compete for the 2002 Christmas number one single. Following the initial success of Hear'Say (winners of the original Popstars show), several thousand applicants attended auditions across the UK in hope of... ( +expand to view full text )

Description: The concept of the programme, hosted by Big Brother presenter Davina McCall, was to produce a boyband and a girlband who would be 'rivals' and compete for the 2002 Christmas number one single. Following the initial success of Hear'Say (winners of the original Popstars show), several thousand applicants attended auditions across the UK in hope of being selected. Ten men and ten women were chosen as finalists by judges Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh and Geri Halliwell. However, two of these were disqualified before the live shows began: Hazel Kaneswaren was found to be too old to participate[1] whilst Nicola Ward refused to sign the contract, claiming the pay the group would receive was too poor. Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts, who had made it into the final fifteen but not the final ten, were chosen as their replacements.