Finalists
Ten male and ten female finalists were chosen to perform in the live shows. There was some controversy as one of the original finalists, Hazel Kaneswaran, was forced to pull out of the show because she was 10 days too old at the time of the auditions. The show had an age limit of 24 and Hazel had just turned 25. Her situation was further complicated by the fact that she was eight months pregnant. She had the baby in October 2002. Kimberley Walsh, one of the girls who did not make the final 10, took Kaneswaren's place for the live shows. A special half-hour episode was broadcast on 14 October 2002 to show these changes, with Geri Halliwell informing Hazel of her elimination and Louis Walsh inviting Kimberley back onto the show.
Nicola Roberts, who also failed to make it through, replaced 19 year old Nicola Ward, who quit the show over what she considered "exploitation" of contestants by the producers.
| Category | Artists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Daniel Pearce (23) | Anton Gordon (19) | Andrew Kinlochlan (23) | Peter Smith (23) | Mikey Greene (21) |
| Chris Park (20) | Keith Semple (20) | Jamie Shaw (17) | Matt Johnson (16) | Nikk Mager (18) | |
| Girls | Sarah Harding (20) | Aimee Kearsley (16) | Cheryl Tweedy (19) | Emma Beard (18) | Kimberley Walsh (20) |
| Lynsey Brown (19) | Nicola Roberts (16) | Nadine Coyle (17) | Javine Hylton (20) | Chloe Staines (18) | |
Read more about this topic: Popstars: The Rivals