When researching for this interview I learned that at the age of 11, Gareth Gates performed a solo for the late Queen in his role as head chorister at Bradford Cathedral. Following his placing as runner up on Pop Idol (precursor to The X Factor) he went on to sell over 5 million records, including five Number One hits. He has worked with various charities, has appeared on more than one or two reality shows and since 2009 has sustained a hugely successful career in musical theatre. He’s currently touring the UK with his own show (more details below) and will be performing in Oxford at the end of August as one of the headliners for Foodies Festival in South Parks. He is also an excellent interviewee; a pleasure to speak with, Gareth Gates is not still only pop-star pretty – voted Most Fanciable Male in the 2002 Smash Hits awards – he’s bright, warm, insightful and (almost devastatingly) self-aware.
Gareth, you’ve got this outstanding talent and you are clearly very driven. You’ve come a long way from that shy 17 year old who won so many hearts on Pop Idol.
Pop Idol was the first of its kind, before X Factor, and nobody knew what it was or what it was to become. I was very sceptical whether it would actually work for me, because the word idol suggests that you're perfect; the image of perfection that people strive to be and I absolutely wasn't that. I had a terrible stammer – I was in many ways defected, and so I didn't think I'd get as far as I did because I wasn't an idol in my eyes. Fortunately, for the first time, being different was actually a good thing: it made me stand out from the crowd.
At school I was badly bullied. Being different to anybody else was a bad thing, but [on Pop Idol] it kind of worked in my favour, and I'm a very different person now. That struggle made me much more resilient, much more driven, and, yeah, I've always invested well…
I'm taking things to the next level now. I've always had a business mind, and I'm producing lots of shows. I'm also writing and producing a musical called Speechless, about a guy who can't speak. That will be on a West End stage next year.
Can you tell us anything more about that?
I don't want to talk too much about it yet, but it's not a biography of my life. It’s essentially about a guy that can't speak, and how his stammer causes him a lot of hurt and a lot of grief, and affects his everyday life [because] a stammer isn't just the repetition of sounds, it controls who you are and what you become, and dictates the life that you lead.
I really wanted to tell that story, not the story that everyone's seen: the boy who couldn't speak, but could sing, and went on a TV programme, and it all changed.
Sounds very exciting and hopefully we’ll get the chance to speak about it nearer the time, but first you’re coming to Foodies Festival in South Parks at the end of August with Boyband in the Park. Is that right? I am a bit confused, because when I was doing my research I kept seeing references to Boyband in the Buff. What exactly is it you're planning to bring to Oxford?
The show Boyband in the Buff was something I created at the start of this year. It's myself and four very amazingly talented lads. We perform all those big boy band hits in the 90s and noughties, from bands like Backstreet Boys, NSync, Take That, Westlife, Blue, Five. But, it has a striptease element to it…
Oh yes?
There’s quite a big market for shows like Magic Mike, so I wanted to create something similar to that, but where we sing and dance all these well-known songs. It’s been going extremely well so we've extended that until next year.
For Foodies Festival, because it's a family festival, we’ve modified it slightly and called it Boyband in the Park. It's the exact same lads with the exact same music, but we don't get quite as naked.
I'm sort of reliving my youth and living my dream. It’s fun having to learn all the choreography and being able to sing all those amazing songs. All bangers, and we've hand-picked them, so it's just fun from start to finish. Everybody knows every word, and yeah, it was a bit of a passion project, because I'd always dreamed of being in a band myself.
Sounds brilliant, and a bit different?
Yeah, and I'm really pleased to be performing at the Foodies festival. It's a great crowd, great food. I'll be getting there early on the day, and we’re staying that night.
What you looking forward to eating?
Everything. My body type is actually very slim. I have to eat everything and train extremely hard to put on just a tiny bit of weight, so I'll be getting there early and sampling all of the food stalls.
You’ve played in Oxford before, right?
Yeah, I've done a few things in Oxford over the years. It’s a great place – just gorgeous with the history and the architecture. I really enjoy my time there.
I’m curious to know, of all the places you have performed, which has been the most memorable?
I have played in all sorts of incredible places, and some places, where it’s like, what am I doing here? I did this campaign for a social media company, and the winners won a performance by me in their back garden. It was the strangest gig. There were four of them and two people from the social media team. I actually brought my parents along to fill it out a bit.
I tried to find it on online and it’s all over TikTok and Instagram. They filmed it so it was like their next-door neighbour looking through the fence, going, ‘why is Gareth Gates; performing in neighbour's garden?’ Thankfully, we didn't get any complaints. Like, 'turn that rubbish off!’
This is such a simplistic question but what is the best and worst thing about being so incredibly famous?
Firstly, I didn't want to be famous – I was very shy – but I wanted to become a pop star. I knew I had the talent and the voice, but I didn't want to enter Pop Idol. It was my parents who gently persuaded me. I'm extremely thankful that they did now, but it was a massive fear of mine.
So, the worst thing about being famous was having to talk, to tell the world your story – that's a lot harder for me than it looks, or it seems. I've had to learn that, but then I think that’s also the best thing. I'm most proud of heightening the awareness.
I didn't know anybody who stammered when I was young. There was a sense of isolation but if there was somebody [like me] in the public eye, it would have made life much easier. A lot of [people] have told me how I made stammering sort of okay, so that's also the best thing.
FOODIES FESTIVAL returns to South Park, Oxford 29-31 August. The star-studded touring food & music festival, in its 21st year, welcomes a huge line-up of TV celebrity chefs including MasterChef 2025 Champion, Harry Maguire and finalist Sam Kaeokon, plus Head Chef and Great British Menu star, Ashleigh Farrand, from Kingham Plough, Director of the Raymond Blanc Cookery School, Mark Peregrine, Head Chef and Andrew Carr, from Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant, The Yurt. In addition to Gareth Gates and his Boyband in the Park hit show, music acts include iconic 90s group B*Witched, and Boyzone and Westlife supergroup Boyzlife,
For more information including children’s activities and to book tickets visit foodiesfestival.com
