On a spring morning in 2002 a shy-looking 17-year-old with spiky hair stood in Leicester Square facing a phalanx of photographers.

Gareth Gates looked tanned and relaxed, posing for pictures in front of 5ft high letters spelling out Bradford.' The East Bowling lad had shot to fame on Pop Idol and his debut single, Unchained Melody, had just reached Number 1 - there wasn't a better time for him to launch Bradford's Capital of Culture bid.

As Gareth beamed for photographers, arms outstretched, he looked every inch the perfectly-groomed pop star. It wasn't until a cluster of journalists, including myself, started firing questions at him that he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Gareth's stammer had been public knowledge since his Pop Idol audition, when he could barely say his name. He sang like an angel but struggled to speak.

Five years on I'm interviewing Gareth over the phone, and the difference in him is unbelievable. Thanks to speech therapy technique the McGuire Programme, he has managed to overcome his crippling stammer and is chatting with confidence.

"It's great to hear a Yorkshire accent," he smiles. It's even better to hear Gareth's Yorkshire accent.

"I wasn't able to give interviews before, so people couldn't associate my personality with me as an artist. It was like there was a void there between me and the music, it restricted me.

"The McGuire Programme gave me the ability to know that I can say and do anything. It's been life-changing."

After notching up more than three million record sales in under two years, Gareth disappeared from the public eye, focussing on improving his speech and writing new material.

Now he's back with new album Pictures of the Other Side. Gareth will be in Bradford on Monday, the day the album is released, performing acoustic tracks from it including his new single, Angel On My Shoulder, out this week.

"I wrote it for my mum," he says. "It's about unconditional love and people who stick by you, no matter what happens.

"The same could be said of Bradford people, I've had amazing support from Bradford and I'm coming over next week to say a big thank you."

Pictures Of The Other Side is a collection of grown-up songs blended with catchy melodies. Gareth has written most tracks himself.

"It's how I always thought you made an album," he says. "In the past I'd arrive at the studio, do the vocal and leave. I don't regret not having any input because I was only 17 and had never made a record before so it was a learning process, but I always thought this isn't the way I want to make records.' "This time I've been involved in everything, working with the producer Martin Terefe, who's produced KT Tunstall and James Morrison. It's been amazing.

"I wanted to record an album with just one producer and I wanted a live-based album. I recorded it with a live band in one take."

At an age when many youngsters are still at school, Gareth was catapulted to fame on Pop Idol, stealing the hearts of mums, grans and teenage girls.

In his three years away from the spotlight his musical tastes have shifted; the boy who sang Flying Without Wings in a white suit and dreamed of being a one-man Westlife is now into the likes of Keane and the jazz singer Liane Carroll.

"I took time out for some head space," says Gareth. "Pop Idol was a great launch-pad and to sell more than a million singles at 17 is so many people's dream, but even with all the advice in the world nothing prepares you for the pressure. Things happened so fast and I needed time to grow up, I'm glad I had the space and normality to do that. You can't write decent songs without some experience of normal life."

Gareth's post-Pop Idol No 1 single and album were followed by a string of hits, including Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake) and What My Heart Wants To Say. He played sell-out arena tours, made the Guinness Book Of Records for a 130-decibel audience scream, and Smash Hits magazine launched International Gareth Day.

But for three years following his 2003 single Say It Isn't So, which reached No 4, all went quiet on the Gareth front. He parted company with SonyBMG and last December emerged as the focus of a documentary, aptly called Whatever Happened to Gareth Gates?

"I'm only 22 so it seems strange when people say this is my comeback," says Gareth. "If you're not in the papers every day people forget you exist.

"Taking time out helped to keep me grounded, to get a sense of perspective. That helped with my songwriting. I was never into just sitting down with writers in a studio, trying to come up with lyrics. Over the past couple of years I've been scrawling down ideas as I've been out and about, most of the album came from that. It's been a more organic process.

"I know some people might just hear my name and throw the CD out of the nearest window, but I also know this is a strong album I'm proud of. I hope it manages to establish me as a more credible artist, not just someone who was a five-minute wonder."

  • Gareth Gates's new album, Pictures of the Other Side, is released on Monday by Universal. Gareth will perform tracks from it at HMV on Broadway, Bradford, on Monday at 5pm. After the show he will meet fans and sign copies of the album.