Will Young's Biography

At school, Will Young was known for his sporting prowess, but he told Tatler "I think Wellington has a problem having an old boy who is a public gay figure."

Will Young then went to Exeter University where he studied politics and did some amateur dramatics.

Will Young came to prominence when he beat Gareth Gates in the Pop Idol final. He amassed 4.6m votes. In so doing he proved himself wrong, the BBC quoted his thoughts at the time:

"I remember thinking, who's going to vote for a middle-class, gay, slightly eccentric student who sings jazz and soul?"

After winning Pop Idol, Will Young's first record, the double A-side Anything Is Possible / Evergreen was released on 25 February 2002 and sold more than a million copies within one week, going straight to number 1 and becoming the biggest selling first-day debut single in the UK ever.

Young's debut album, 'From Now On' spawned four number 1s.

Will Young supports various charities including The Hideout.

At the end of 2005, Will Young had his film acting debut in Mrs Henderson Presents where he plays a gay choreographer.

In January 2006, Young released the successful 'All Time Love'.

In April 2008, it was revealed that Will Young is to play T in the Park in what was believed to signal a change of direction in his music.

In November 2009, Will Young released the single Hopes and Fears and the album The Hits.

At that time, he told the BBC that his acting was going well and he had "just done a Miss Marple and an episode of Skins."

In 2013 Will Young was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for best actor for his role in Cabaret the musical.

His album Summer Covers was scheduled for release in August 2016.

On 9 August 2016, it was revealed that Will Young, who had once taken ballet lessons, would be a contestant on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.

He was paired with Karen Clifton.

However, on 11 October 2016 Will Young decided to leave Strictly for personal reasons.

In 2017, he was cast in Cabaret alongside Louise Redknapp.