Will Young facts: Singer's age, partner, family and career explained

6 January 2021, 14:46 | Updated: 8 February 2022, 17:10

Will Young became one of the biggest singers in the UK after winning Pop Idol in 2002, and is still recording fantastic music nearly two decades later.

One of the first true stars of the reality TV generation, Will continued scoring hits many years after beating Gareth Gates in the Pop Idol final, proving that he was no flash in the pan.

Many hit albums and TV appearances since, let's catch up with the talented singer-songwriter:

Who is Will Young?

Pop Idol (UK) - Will Young's winning moment with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? sounds

Will Young is a British singer-songwriter, author and actor.
He burst onto the entertainment scene after winning Pop Idol in 2002. The final was watched by over 13 million people, and he became the first ever winner of any Idol show around the world.
Will's double A-sided debut single 'Anything Is Possible/Evergreen' became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK, with over 1 million sales in a week.

Will Young - All Time Love (Video)

He later came in fifth place in 2003's World Idol, performing his cover of 'Light My Fire'.
Will has since released seven studio albums, and has had hits with songs including 'Leave Right Now', 'Switch it On', 'All Time Love' and 'Jealousy'.
He has also acted on stage and in TV and film. For his performance in the 2013 London revival of the musical Cabaret, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
In 2020, he published his book To Be a Gay Man, and has also co-hosted the podcast series Homo Sapiens.
He took part in 2016 series of Strictly Come Dancing, but pulled out from the show midway for "personal reasons".
How old is Will Young?

Will Young in 2018. Picture: Getty

Will was born on January 20, 1979. He celebrated his 41st birthday in 2020.
He is the second-oldest child of parents Robin Young, a company director of an engineering firm, and Annabel Young (née Griffith), a plant nursery gardener.
He was born six weeks prematurely, and was ten minutes older than his twin brother, Rupert, who passed away in August 2020.
Will also has an older sister, Emma.
Is Will Young dating anyone?

Will Young opens up to Iain Dale about his struggles as a gay man | LBC

As of January 2021, it is not currently known if Will has a boyfriend.
In 2020, Will wrote the book How To Be A Gay Man, in which he discussed his shame of being gay in the past, and the impact its had on his life and career.
Speaking about the book, he told Gay Times, he said he was "ashamed" to be openly gay during his early career.
"I think I was really ashamed of it to be honest. I’d say that 75% of that was my own stuff, and then getting older and being more confident, that’s naturally just going to come out in anything that I do creatively.
"I would also say that if I look back on how it was – even 10 years ago – there was no nurturing for it. Some of that shame was also people repressing me. If someone would ask about a boyfriend, the PR would step in and be like, 'No!'"
Is Will Young on the Masked Singer?

Badger Performs: 'Feeling Good' By Nina Simone | Season 2 Ep.1 | The Masked Singer UK

In the second series of The Masked Singer on ITV, viewers have turned detective to try and figure out who each secret performer is.
One such guess that's doing the rounds is that Will is in fact Badger, due to the animal's singing voice and clues so far.
Read more: Who is Badger on The Masked Singer?
We'll just have to wait and see if this is the case or not...