Forgotten Pop Idol star, 42, has barely aged a day 22 years after talent show fame and two kids

CAST your mind back to 2001 and a batch of fresh faced hopefuls took on Simon Cowell in the first ever Pop Idol.

The show was eventually won by Will Young, but there was one contestant who REALLY stood out as well.

Singer Sarah Whitmore burst onto the scene when she was just 20-years-old.

Fast forward 22 years and the 42-year-old mum-of-two looks like she hasn’t aged a day.

With model good looks and a great voice, Sarah was one of the breakout stars of Pop Idol.

She was even snapped up by Simon Fuller’s record label, despite not winning the show.

After two hit songs in the top 20, she turned down the chance to be a backing singer for Kylie Minogue, to focus on writing songs.

But when her third single was canceled, the pop world appeared to go cold on the star.

However, more than 20 years on, the mother-of-two still keeps her toe in the singing world and often posts clips of herself performing on Instagram.

During her time on Pop Idol, Sarah made a BIG impression on a little-known Simon Cowell.

In an unearthed interview from 2008, Sarah revealed how all the contestants were excited about music boss Pete Waterman being one of the judges, and didn’t know who Simon was.

Speaking to The Mail, she said at the time: “The other kids were going round saying: “Pete Waterman’s on the show. It’s going to be huge!”

“No one knew who Simon Cowell was.”

Speaking about her first Pop Idol audition, Sarah said: “You could tell he was the most serious one. He meant business.

“He had his head down a lot of the time which meant he was listening to the voice.

“I caught him when he glanced up and I looked him straight in the eye.”

When she got through to the later stages of the show, she was more confident about her voice than her appeal to Simon.

She recalled: “When he said ‘Will you marry me?;, I was a bit embarrassed.

“But looking back I understand why he said it. He’s a businessman and he wanted people to remember me.”

Sarah also said she wasn’t surprised Will Young won, saying: “I always knew a boy was going to win because it’s teenage girls and housewives who are voting.”

In 2016 Sarah started to officially release music again, and released three tracks throughout the year, and also an EP.

These days she is happily married to husband, and has moved back to Manchester.

Speaking to ilovemanchester.com about relocating from London, she said: “I moved back to Manchester when I met my husband, about five years ago.

“I never knew it was getting cooler and cooler. London is great, but Manchester is just the place to be.”