Nina's Darius World

He may have found fame and fortune since his Pop Idol days but Scots singer Darius Danesh says none of it compares to the joy he gets from family life.

DARIUS was the TV Pop Idol who wouldn’t give up — and he’s evolved from a cartoon study in self-humiliation to national treasure. Now 24, he recently released his second album Live Twice. Darius dedicated this to his father Booth, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and has now made a remarkable recovery.

Do you have a high or low tolerance to pain?

High. When I visited the Lake District I hurt my knee and continued walking on it for four days. When I got back my mother looked at it and took me to hospital. I had dislocated my kneecap and the pain was so great that I hadn’t noticed that I’d broken my toe, too.

And, of course, I had to endure Simon Cowell!

Do you think what you fear becomes true?

Yes, I do. That’s why I had to stay pure to my own thoughts and not take any notice of Simon. If I had listened to him, I would have feared that I’d never get a record deal and then it may never have happened. Also, with my dad’s illness, if I’d feared the worst for him, who knows what would have happened. After his diagnosis we (mum Avril and brothers Cyrus and Aria) surrounded him with positive thoughts and prayer and we believe it really helped.

What do you fear?

I don’t believe in fear. It doesn’t work on any level. When I was at school, two of my great friends died. One died in an accident and one was murdered because of football hooliganism. Then I had to face my fears, face death.

From then on I always feared losing someone that I cared about, someone in my family. With my father’s illness that fear was taken away from me, as I had to face it. It was life changing because I am no longer afraid of losing. I accept it’s part of living.

Are you in love at the moment?

I am enjoying my time not living with anybody. I had a huge connection with someone in Los Angeles and that might happen in the future. But at the moment all my love is for my family.

What makes you happy?

Playing chess with my little brother Cyrus, who is 10. I am very competitive but I love it when he beats me. It makes me learn something about myself. I enjoy it when his face lights up. It reminds me of when I taught my father the card games I’d learnt at school and beat him, too.

How many hours of sleep do you need?

Seven, my lucky number. Any more and I am groggy. Any less and I am grumpy.

Yoga or workout?

I work out every day wherever I am. I swim and do cardiovascular. I’ve lost a lot of weight in the last year. I think stress makes you eat less.

Food vice?

Chocolate. I like to buy an enormous box of Belgian chocolate, the weight of a small shopping bag, take it to a girlfriend as a present and then eat it without guilt. I also love red meat — I could eat it every day. But I don’t. I limit it to once a week.

Are you high maintenance as a boyfriend?

I think I am tiring to be around but I am fun. A relaxing beach holiday turns into a scuba diving, abseiling, non-stop event.

Single focus or multi-tasker?

I am very single-minded but I like juggling everything. My priorities have changed though. My family is the most important. I think in the past it was my career.

In relationships are you the one who likes to love more or be loved?

I am the giver not the taker. I put in 100 per cent to make things work. In any relationship, with a girlfriend, my parents, my family. I think the act of giving is selfish because of the glow it gives you.

What would you like to change about yourself?

The fact that I’m not patient with myself. My first love was a medical student who had two brothers with cystic fibrosis. She had incredible patience and I learned a lot from her. She had a profound effect on how patient I am with other people. Now it’s just myself that I have to worry about.

Can you easily be forced to do something against your wishes?

My mother has an amazing way of getting me to do the dishes — she just says “apple crumble”.

People tend to repeat the same patterns in relationships. What’s yours?

I feel defined by how much I can give a girlfriend. Even though we’ve had a ladette culture and women being hugely independent in the work place, when it comes down to it, a man is a man, and a man still needs to protect and cherish. I love the feeling of making someone feel secure, wanted and safe. It gives me a sense of self-worth.

Would you rather be emotionally hurt or discontent?

Sometimes you can want something very badly but it’s not what your soul needs. When I was 16 I was in a relationship where I would fly down from Glasgow to London every other weekend. I was very content but she obviously wasn’t. One Easter I walked in on her cheating on me with my best friend. It turned out that she needed me to be around more. That was because all her friends had boyfriends who were there all the time. I felt very betrayed by that. It hurt me but it taught me to feel.

What is life, unless it’s to experience the whole gamut, the troughs, the highs? Without the troughs, there would be no highs. To be hurt is to feel, to be discontent is almost circumstantial and not to do with the individual. So I’d rather be hurt, any time.

By Chrissy Iley/Planet Syndication