POP Idol pin-up Sam Nixon is heading back to Barnsley with partner Mark Rhodes – on the day their new single is released.
Sam and Mark will be signing copies of their debut single at the Alhambra Centre on Monday.
And 17-year-old Sam says he "can't wait" to be back in his home town.
In the video for Sam and Mark's debut single, a cover of Beatles favourite With A Litt
le Help From My Friends, fans see the Pop Idol stars moving into a flat together – with former catering student Sam cooking up a tasty treat.
The pair have been looking for a flat to share in real life but have been too busy launching their pop careers.
Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller came up with the idea that Sam and Mark should become a duo.
"Simon had seen the friendship me and Mark had on the show," said Sam, from Monk Bretton.
"It's nice because it's something new. There hasn't been a duo in the charts for a long time, and it hasn't happened in any of the Pop Idols around the world."
The pair have been compared to Robson and Jerome – but they shrug off the comparison good-naturedly.
"We have heard that a few times," said Sam a bit wearily. "But it's just because they were the last male duo in the charts. They had three successful singles though, and if we can have that then wicked, but we're hoping to be around a lot longer."
Sam and Mark bonded during an early Pop Idol audition and became good mates.
They didn't exchange numbers but met up again during the show in which Mark got through to the final 12.
"It was nice to see each other again," said Sam. "The final 12 was such a tight group and we all hated it when somebody went.
"But when Mark and me were on the sofa on Saturday night, as soon as one of us knew that we were safe, we'd look out for the other one straight away."
The boys insist their partnership will ensure that fame does not go to their heads as they say they have each other to bring them down if either of them get too big for their boots. They are both positive they can handle spending 24 hours a day together once they find a flat as well.
But Sam will sometimes have to play gooseberry to Mark and his girlfriend of six years, who has opted to stay in Wolverhampton while Mark pursues his career in London but plans to visit regularly.
Despite appearing this weekend on TV dating show Love on a Saturday Night, Sam is still single and admits he is unsure about the female attention his fame has brought him.
"I get more than I used to, which is quite strange," he said. " I never got it before and now I'm getting it. I wonder why that is. I'm wary, you've got to be. But I've got to enjoy everything while it lasts as well."
Sam and Mark are at the Alhambra Centre in Barnsley on Monday from 4pm until 6pm.
