| GARETH | _ _ _ _ _ _ Gates, English singer/songwriter and runner-up on the first series of Pop Idol in 2002 (6) |
| GARETHGATES | Runner-up in the first series of Pop Idol in 2002 (6,5) |
| GATES | Gareth _, singer who was the runner-up on the first series of Pop Idol (5) |
| JESSIE | ___ J, judge on the first series of The Voice UK (6) |
| LESLEY | Yorkshire-born soprano; contestant on the first series of BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing (6,7) |
| ROMESH | _ Ranganathan, comic who was a contestant on the first series of Taskmaster (6) |
| DASHED | Destroyed, as are semi-finalist and runner-up? (6) |
| TANGLE | It's a mix-up on the first dogleg perhaps (6) |
| MCMANUS | Surname of Michelle who won the second series of Pop Idol in 2003 (7) |
| CLIFFS | Rocky white faces of singer Richard and runner Young (6) |
| FULLER | Creator of Pop Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, Simon ... (6) |
| YOUNG | Singer and winner of the first series of Pop Idol, Will ----- (5) |
| WILL | _ Young, the winner of the first series of Pop Idol (4) |
| LOMAS | Hollyoaks star and runner-up on the 2017 series of I'm a Celebrity..., Get Me out of Here!, Jamie ----- (5) |
| SMOKIE | Scottish swimmer and runner acquiring instant energy (6) |
| BURRELL | Paul, Princess Diana's ex-butler and runner-up on the 2004 series of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (7) |
| OSBOURNE | Jack ___, media personality born in 1985 and runner-up on Cooking With The Stars in 2025 (8) |
| SAIRA | TV presenter who was runner-up on the first series of The Apprentice, _ Khan (5) |
| TINYDANCER | One of the songs Elton John performed the song on the first series of The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1971 |
| CLARKSON | Surname of the singer who won the first season of American Idol in 2002. |
