Gareth Gates

Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly.

In 2009, Gates moved into musical theatre, playing the title role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. From 2009 to 2011, Gates completed an 18-month stint as Marius in Les Misérables, initially in the touring production, and then in the West End production of the show. He also took the roles of Eddie in the musical Loserville, Warner in Legally Blonde in 2012 and Dean in Boogie Nights the Musical in Concert in 2013. He was part of the pop group 5th Story, set up for The Big Reunion.