Cowell say Pop Idol was a "fix"

Pop Idol supremo Simon Cowell has said that he 'fixed' Pop Idol 2 to let 15-stone Michelle McManus to win.

16:07 03 March 2004

Pop Idol supremo Simon Cowell has said that he 'fixed' Pop Idol 2, to let 15-stone Michelle McManus to win.

McManus was backed by Cowell throughout the ITV show - their relationship even being mocked on 'Harry Hill's TV Burp.'

She eventually won the contest, release an album, and scored a number one hit.

But Cowell reportedly told a BBC 'Tabloid Tales' episode he made the Glaswegian win - even though he doesn't see her as a long-term chart star.

He said he chose McManus as he thought she would be a money-spinner more in the mould of his previous successes the Teletubbies and Power Rangers.

'She's not a pop idol in the old fashioned sense, though maybe times are changing,' he commented.

The sharp tongued critic added: 'I thought she should win anyway.'

McManus' album, "The Meaning Of Love", sold just a sixth of previous winner Will Young's first offering "From Now On".