On 18th December 2001 Darius and his fellow Pop Idol contestants Gareth Gates and Aaron Bailey were sent Christmas shopping at the Whitgift Centre in Croydon to film with fans as part of footage to be shown on the Pop Idol Christmas Songs week. They were each given some cash and had to buy a present for another fellow contestant.
Darius had not yet been announced as returning to the show at the time. Check out some photos from the filming below:
The Croydon Guardian reported at the time:
"Pop Idol hopefuls Darius Danesh, Gareth Gates and Aaron Bayley were swamped with newly-acquired fans this week as they indulged in a spot of Christmas shopping at the Whitgift Centre.
The Croydon Guardian was the only newspaper invited to meet with the wannabe pop stars as they were filmed for the prime-time ITV programme on Tuesday (December 18).
Train driver Aaron Bayley, labelled the "people's choice" for the public vote, and Gareth Gates, who got through the tough auditions despite suffering from a severe stutter, signed autographs along with Darius Danesh, described as "corny" by Pop Idol judges.
The appearance of Darius who did not originally get through to the final ten hopefuls sparked fierce speculation that he has replaced flu-ridden contestant, Rik Waller.
But Pop Idol officials have insisted that Darius' presence was purely a "precautionary" measure in case Rik was still to unwell to continue with the live broadcast this weekend."
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