Ant and Dec break silence on Darius Campbell Danesh's death as they pay tribute

ok.co.uk:

Former Pop Idol co-hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have broken their silence following the death of Darius Campbell Danesh, remembering "many laughs" with the Scottish singer.The TV presenting duo paid tribute to the 41-year-old, who finished third behind winner Will Young, 43, and Gareth Gates, 38, in the first Pop Idol series on ITV in 2002.

Darius also appeared on an episode of their Ant and Dec's entertainment show Saturday Night Takeaway. His tragic death was announced by his family on Tuesday after the songwriter and theatre star was found unresponsive in his US apartment on August 11.

On Wednesday, Ant and Dec, both 46, tweeted: "We are very sorry to hear of the passing of Darius Campbell Danesh at such a tragically young age. "We had many laughs with him on his Pop Idol journey.

Our hearts go out to his lovely family. #RIP", with a praying hands emoji. Darius began his rise to fame on the short-lived ITV music talent show Popstars in 2001, when he was known as Darius Danesh, before reaching greater heights on Pop Idol.