🦋 On this day in 2003 Darius spent the day with Smash Hits whilst on tour in Manchester. The subsequent article was published in the magazine a few weeks later and can be seen below along with a couple of unpublished outtakes from the photoshoot. ♥

Darius is feeling rough after four nights of non-stop partying, but the Pop Idol megastar wouldn't have it any other way. Luckily, his escapades haven't stopped him from inviting SH! to the Manchester leg of his Dive In tour (which is all being done Darius' way down to what gets cooked on the tour bus) for a behind-the-scenes peek at a day in the life of Big D. And whether it's pouting, posing or performing, this boy doesn't do things by halves....

11.04

Darius rises from his bed looking sexy despite a heavy night of rocking out in his Manchester hotel. "You should see the suite they've given us, it's amazing," he says. "There's a glass spiral staircase to the bed -which vibrates - a bathtub for two and a plasma screen TV stuck on the wall."

11.36

Once he's drags himself away from his luxury suite, Dazzer jumps into the back of his car. Even though he's feeling poorly, he's well up for the day ahead. "The other night after a gig I was drenched in sweat, had lipstick on both cheeks and though to myself, "I'm sitting on MY tour bus, at the end of one of MY gigs, on MY tour." It was an amazing feeling."

12.00

We stop at the Megabowl in Old Trafford for a game in an arcade. We play a shoot 'em up and talk sci-fi. "I'm into the Matrix movies and was excited when I was invited to the Reloaded premiere." he smiles. "I love all those cool action scenes."

12.18

It's not long before the big man attracts the attention of some fans. Like the true gent we all know and love, he lays off nuking aliens long enough to give everyone an autograph. "There's this one wicked group of about a dozen girls who come to pretty much every gig," he tells us. "It's amazing.... I even know all their names now."

13.15

On the way back to the hotel, Darius tells us about his recent TV appearance with Jonathan Ross. "He told me to always tuck my shirt in for dancing. Then he pulled his trousers down and showed me his shirt was tucked into his pants. I was like, 'my God! You've shown the nation your Y-fronts."

14.09

Back at the hotel, Darius tells us about a discussion he had with Blue a few days back. "Dunk and Simon were arguing over which was better - Burger King or McDonald's. We decided that Burger King is the king of burgers, but Maccie D's...well, don't mess with their fries."

16.00

Darius is talking about the dangers of fans throwing gifts on stage. " I like Kit Kats, but chunky ones hurt when they hit you on the head. Massage oil is good. A shoulder rub is the way to a man's heart, not his stomach."

17.10

As we walk to the venue, Darius tells us about his craziest tour moments. "Once we had a water fight and my drummer threw a bottle over me. Then I heard electrical buzzing and saw smoke pouring from behind an amp. Other than almost being electrocuted, everything went well that night."

18.14

Suddenly Darius is distracted by a cute girl! "I fancy a girl who came to one of my concerts," he reveals. "I've invited her to the last gig but if she doesn't fancy me, my drummer likes her so I'll put them in touch."

20.30

Playing live is what Darius loves most and you can see it in his swagger as he walks on stage. "I love singing smoochy ballads while looking someone in the eye," he tells us later. Aww, bless him...

22.30

The gig includes covers of Justin's 'Like I love You' and 'Bootylicious' by Destiny's Child. The tune that brings the house down is Blink 182's 'All the Small Things', with the whole audience singing, "Nana, nana, nana, na, na" at full volume.

23.00

Knackered after another show, Darius finally exits the venue to board the flash tour bus. He's still got time to sign a few autographs for the fans, though. "I'm lucky my audience is mostly female It's cool because I'm a guy and, well...I like girls." Darius says, laughing as he clambers aboard.