1. In January 2004, McManus made history when she became the first Scottish female artist to debut atop the UK Singles Chart with a debut single.
38 Facts About Michelle McManus
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Later that year, Michelle McManus released a promotional single, "Just For You" from her then upcoming second album Dancing to a Different Beat, which was scheduled for release in 2008, but the release was eventually shelved.
3.
From 2009 to 2011, Michelle McManus was a co-presenter of STV's lifestyle magazine show The Hour, originally alongside Stephen Jardine and later Tam Cowan.
4.
Michelle McManus was a columnist for the Glasgow Times until 2018.
5.
In 2023, McManus released the single "Christmas Glow", and featured in a BBC Scotland documentary highlighting her Pop Idol win in 2003 and subsequent career titled Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners.
6.
Michelle McManus was born in 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland to John and Helen McManus, and is the oldest of five sisters.
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In early 2003, Michelle McManus auditioned for the second season of Pop Idol, along with thousands of other aspiring singers from around the UK.
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When Michelle McManus won the competition, judge Pete Waterman stormed off the Pop Idol set in protest; he later branded her "rubbish".
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Daily Telegraph journalist Viktoria Tolstoy said Michelle McManus's victory "seemed to suggest that the pool of talent available to the judges is seriously diminishing".
10.
Michelle McManus is the first Scottish female to debut at the top of the UK Singles Chart.
11.
On 22 June 2005, Michelle McManus appeared on a 60-minute television special of You Are What You Eat with the author and TV personality Gillian McKeith in a bid to lose weight.
12.
In September 2005, Michelle McManus appeared in an episode of the BBC One holiday magazine programme Departure Lounge.
13.
In July 2005, it was announced that Michelle McManus had parted company with her management company 19 Entertainment, 19 months after winning Pop Idol.
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Michelle McManus then went on to sign with Sanctuary Entertainment.
15.
In 2006, Michelle McManus began guest-presenting on the Scottish radio station Clyde 1, and then gained her own regular Saturday show on the station.
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Michelle McManus then hosted two series of the BBC Radio Scotland show titled Let's Do the Show Right Here.
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On television, Michelle McManus announced the Scottish votes during the Making Your Mind Up 2006 programme in March 2006, and in November 2006 she was a reporter on Children in Need live from Scotland.
18.
In June 2006, Michelle McManus performed in the theatre production, The Vagina Monologues, a role which she has subsequently repeated for various tours.
19.
In December 2007, Michelle McManus was seen in a run of the musical Discotivity at the Arts Theatre in London's West End.
20.
Michelle McManus appeared regularly as a guest co-host of the weekday Scottish lifestyle TV programme The Hour during the summer of 2009.
21.
In October 2009, Michelle McManus became a permanent main presenter alongside Stephen Jardine.
22.
The programme was relaunched in September 2011 as a weekly peak-time programme, with Michelle McManus co-hosting with new presenter Tam Cowan, but was axed after four weeks due to low viewership.
23.
In September 2010, Michelle McManus was one of the performers for Pope Benedict XVI at a ticketed Mass of the Feast of Saint Ninian in Bellahouston Park, as part of the Pope's state visit to the United Kingdom.
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Michelle McManus was a columnist for the Glasgow Evening Times, up until 2018, and was a judge for the papers Glasgow's Star Turn talent contest in 2012.
25.
In September 2012, Michelle McManus was one of the artists on the single by Manran, "Take You There" as the official single of the 2012 STV Children's Appeal.
26.
Since 2012, Michelle McManus has performed her one-woman shows at the Edinburgh Festival.
27.
Michelle McManus paid tribute and sang two songs at Martyn Hett's funeral on 30 June 2017.
28.
In late 2017, Michelle McManus recorded a cover version of "We All Stand Together" along with Choirs with Purpose in an attempt to reach the Christmas number one spot on the UK Singles Charts.
29.
In January 2018, Michelle McManus was a guest panellist on Loose Women.
30.
Michelle McManus released a Christmas single in 2023, "Christmas Glow", to mark 20 years since her win on Pop Idol in 2003.
31.
The BBC Scotland documentary, Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners, was broadcast on the BBC Scotland channel in December 2023, reflecting on her career since Pop Idol, and UK talent show history.
32.
Michelle McManus additionally hosted a Hogmanay show in Scotland titled Get the Tunes On on BBC Scotland.
33.
Michelle McManus commemorated Scottish poet Robert Burns in 2024, and had indicated touring her debut album, The Meaning of Love, twenty years after its release after she was not given the opportunity when the album was originally released due to being dropped by her record company and management.
34.
In September 2024, Michelle McManus began hosting the weekly entertainment show The Entertainment Mix on the BBC Scotland channel.
35.
In March 2025, it was confirmed that Michelle McManus would join Robbie Williams for the Edinburgh performance during his tour later that year.
36.
Michelle McManus had a "brief" friendship with recording artist Robbie Williams following her Pop Idol win in 2003, with Michelle McManus claiming that Williams showed her "kindness at a time when I really needed it".
37.
Michelle McManus became known for her weight and appearance during her Pop Idol tenure, and Michelle McManus has credited her weight for lack of promotion and has said that she "felt hated in the media".
38.
Michelle McManus has since lost a considerable amount of weight, which she claims was for her children.