Pop Idol star Rik Waller leaves music industry to forge very different career – 23 years after he had to drop out of reality show due to losing his voice

He became a household name after reaching the final ten of Pop Idol in 2001.

But now Rik Waller has turned away from the music industry and found a whole new career away from the spotlight.

The now 43-year-old surprised jury members Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman and Neil Fox with his vocal talents at just 20 years old.

Unfortunately, however, he had to withdraw from the reality show prematurely due to severe laryngitis, where he was replaced by Darius Campbell Danesh.

Despite his early departure, Waller signed a recording contract with EMI, believed to be worth around £400,000.

He got off to a good start with his first single, a cover of I Will Always Love You, which reached an impressive number 6 in the charts.

The now 43-year-old wowed judges Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman and Neil Fox with his vocal talents when he was just 20 years old (pictured during audition)

He also appeared in the first series of Celebrity Fit Club in 2002, alongside AnnWiddecombe and Coleen Nolan.

However, he was famously kicked off the reality show after being caught binging.

Waller gave his singing career another chance after forming his own band and signing with Red Admiral Records.

But two months into the 2004 tour, three of his shows were canceled due to low ticket sales.

In 2007, Waller declared that he would no longer perform professionally after deciding to marry star-struck fan Kelly Bliss.

He confessed, “I’m getting tired of singing and I can’t rely on it for 100 percent of my income. I have two people to think about now, and talent doesn’t always pay the bills.”

The couple was supposed to be married in a pagan ceremony, but it is unclear whether they ever witnessed it.

Waller said at the time: ‘This is definitely the real deal and although our pagan beliefs mean ours is not an engagement in the conventional sense, we bought rings as a gesture of love and commitment to each other.’

Despite his early departure, Waller signed a recording contract with EMI, believed to be worth around £400,000, and got off to a good start with his first single, a cover of I Will Always Love You (pictured 2004).

He also appeared in the first series of Celebrity Fit Club in 2002 (pictured), alongside Ann Widdecombe and Coleen Nolan, but was famously kicked off for secret binge eating.

But after he had to give up his singing career, he built a new career as an exam invigilator.

In 2013 he worked full-time as a secondary school exam supervisor for Piper Assessment in Sittingbourne, Kent, where he lived with his mother Christine and father Kris.

He spoke to the Mail that year, explaining that he has changed his name to Richard and no longer wants to be called Rik.

Waller also opened up about the trials he faced after becoming unemployed following his failed singing career.

He said: ‘The most demoralizing thing I ever had to do was stand in line at the job center and have people look at me and say, “What a failure”.

‘When you’ve lost the ability to do the work you’ve always done, it’s an incredible stab in the back when you find that people are actually laughing at you.

‘That’s why I don’t make much effort to talk to the press these days; it could be more trouble than it’s worth. I was never physically attacked, but plenty of people came up to me and were particularly offensive.”

But after having to give up his singing career, he built a new career as an exam proctor and in 2013 he worked full-time as a proctor of high school exams (pictured)

He spoke to the Mail that year, where he explained that he has changed his name to Richard and no longer wants to be called Rik (pictured in 2004)

However, now that he had started his new career, he was very optimistic, saying, “If you have a roof over your head and food on the table, I don’t know how anyone can be truly unhappy.”

But instead of leaving music behind completely, he revealed he was running a mobile karaoke and disco company, touring venues with dad Kris in his spare time.

Kris, who remained his son’s manager, said Waller’s career change was forced on him because of his voice problems, which left him yodelling rather than singing.

But Waller also found time to run Starsearch Entertainment, a karaoke/disco company, and said at the time that he could foresee a future in which he could try his hand at the world of politics.