Darius says he was 'letting off steam'

Darius Danesh claims he was letting off steam when he said the Pop Idol winner will receive a poisoned chalice.

The pop hopeful revealed his disillusionment with the competition when he was caught on camera before a television interview.

Darius, from Glasgow, was recorded making the comments while talking to his publicist before the beginning of an interview for Scottish Television.

Discussing the move to stage a mock election-style campaign for the remaining two contestants, Darius said: "This is out of anybody's control and the problem is the men in black that really run the show.

"You know what? I wish I was 17, I wish I was naive and I couldn't see any of this. I know, I know. I feel so sorry for whoever wins this, it's a poisoned chalice, it is, I believe that."

But later he said: "When I said what I said, I had a long, long day and it was the end of the day."

The Pop Idol reject, who said he had been emotionally and physically fatigued, added: "A lot of it you could take out of context ... but for me looking back on it, it's probably more entertaining to watch that than watch the Pop Idol show on Saturday."

Speaking on Scottish Television's Scotland Today programme, he wished both Pop Idol finalists well.

And he added: "The next time that I know that I'm going to be stitched up, I'll definitely give you guys something to smile about."