The first series of British reality television show Pop Idol was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom during the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a singing competition open to people aged between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1million recording contract to release their debut album. Pop Idol received ratings of as high as 10 million viewers for shows before the live final.

Auditions were held during the early months and summer of 2001 in various locations across the United Kingdom. Selected acts were broadcast on a series of audition programmes in October 2001. The first live show was broadcast on 15 December 2001 and the live final was held on 9 February 2002. The competition was won by Will Young, with Gareth Gates finishing as the runner-up after a public vote. Both of the finalists went on to have chart successes with both their debut releases and subsequent material. Third-placed Darius Danesh also gained a record deal and achieved a string of top-40 hits in the United Kingdom, including a number-one single.

Pop Idol is a British television and the main music competition which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003. Pop Idol was cancelled in February 2004, and was replaced later that year with The X Factor.

The Idol series has become an international franchise, although a legal dispute with the makers of Popstars meant that the word "Pop" had to be excluded from the title. As such, spin-offs have included American Idol, Arab Idol, Australian Idol, Latin American Idol, Idols (Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, South Africa, West Africa, Serbia-Montenegro & Macedonia), Idool (Belgium), Canadian Idol, Indian Idol, Indonesian Idol, New Zealand Idol, Hay Superstar (Armenia), Idol stjörnuleit (Iceland), Pinoy Idol (Philippines), Idol (Sweden), Idol (Norway), Idol (Poland), Nouvelle Star (France), Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany), Singapore Idol, Malaysian Idol, Vietnam Idol, Music Idol (Bulgaria), Ídolos (Brazil and Portugal), Greek Idol, Super Star (Arab States), Hrvatska traži zvijezdu (Croatia), SuperStar KZ (Kazakhstan), Eesti otsib superstaari (Estonia), Slovensko hľadá SuperStar (Slovakia), Macedonian Idol and Kokhav Nolad (Israel).