Louis Walsh was one of the four judges to appear on the highly-popular ITV programme Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, which was one of the first talent shows to hit mainstream TV
Louis Walsh admits he didn't want to manage Girls Aloud
Image: Danny Martindale/REX/Shutterstock)
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Popstars: The Rivals judge Louis Walsh has admitted he "didn't want" to manage Girls Aloud.
The 69-year-old music manager was one of the judges - alongside DJ Dr Neil Fox, music producer Pete Waterman and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell - on the highly-popular ITV programme in 2002, which was one of the first talent shows to hit mainstream TV.
An array of talent shows have been on our screens since such as X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, which recently saw comedian Axel Blake seal his spot at the Royal Variety Performance and scoop £250,000 earlier this month.
But Popstars: The Rivals, which came only a matter of months after Will Young pipped Gareth Gates to the Pop Idol crown, saw contestants try to earn a place in a boy band and girl band which went head-to-head for the Christmas number one spot.
Louis Walsh with girls from Popstar: The Rivals in 2002
Image:
( RICHARD YOUNG/REX/Shutterstock)
Louis found huge success with Irish bands Westlife and Boyzone and envisioned he would get the boy band in the show but was given the girls to his dismay.
Speaking to The Sun, Louis said: "I thought I was going to get a boy band — I was convinced. And they gave me the girls. I didn’t want them.
"Girls don’t like each other in bands — it’s very simple. They all want to be the lead girl."
He also made a sly dig at Cheryl, who he had a long-standing feud which started during his time managing the band between 2002 and 2004 and continued even when she became a judge on X Factor alongside Louis in 2008.
"They all want to go out with the footballer. They all want to be the skinniest," he added.
"Just look at the Sugababes, any line-up they had, and they were brilliant.
"So I had these five girls in Girls Aloud and we thankfully found this great song, Sound Of The Underground."
Girls Aloud won the battle of the sexes by claiming the 2002 Christmas number one ahead of boy band One True Voice, with the Cheeky Girls, who also auditioned for the show, in the top three.
Cheryl, second left, and Louis had a long-standing feud which dated back to start of Girls Aloud
Image:
( Ken McKay / Rex Features)
The five-piece went on to record 20 consecutive top 10 hits in the UK, including four number ones and a Brit award.
Louis also admitted he only became a judge on TV because a producer offered him "a load of money" which he couldn't refuse.
He concluded: "I didn’t want to be on TV, I was happy managing bands. I was making good money as a manager.
"Then he offered me a load of money and I said yes. It was to do something that I liked doing anyway."
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