The 18-year old singer was back home on Monday for his first visit in six weeks, seeing family and friends after surviving another public vote on Saturday's show on ITV1.

Chris sang The Beatles' The Long And Winding Road on the show. Judge Pete Waterman said it was magnificent and dubbed him the "dark horse of the competition".

On Monday, Chris trod the equally well-worn path back to his old school, Boundstone Community College, and then to his parents' house in Lancing Close.

He was followed around by a television crew, who filmed the trip for a later edition of Pop Idol 2, with the Herald duo of chief photographer Stephen Goodger and reporter Jamie Hailstone in hot pursuit.

Boundstone's headteacher, Rich-ard Evea, said: "What's particularly important for me is that the students are able to see someone who is like the boy next door, a decent young man who has taken a lot of a risk by entering the competition."

Mr Evea said he was proud of how Chris has dealt with the judges' criticisms, adding: "He has stuck with it and worked his way through. I want him to do it for Lancing and Sompting, really."

Lancing Close, like so many streets in Britain's largest village, is full of posters with messages of support.

Neighbour Mandie Upfield said: "We're all rooting for him here. Even the butcher's got a poster. It's good community spirit, really. Everyone wants him to win."

Chris's dad, Brian, said that one of his son's oldest cuddly toys, Spot the Dog, was always in the audience on Saturday night. Finally, after much waiting, the Herald was granted an audience with the man judge Neil Fox calls "the vicar", Chris himself.

He said: "I think everyone's a dark horse in this competition, because now it's down to five. It's all down to the support, which we all need."

The last two months have been quite a rollercoaster for Chris. He has met his own pop idol, Sir Elton John, and, last week, he and the other finalists mixed with the stars at the premiere of Love Actually.

"The premiere was just amazing, because we'd never done anything like that before. Meeting Elton John was unbelievable. The day out at Alton Towers with the children from Make-A-Wish Foundation was fantastic."

As for singing live every Saturday night on ITV, he said: "It's a mixture of excitement and nerves. It's really hard to explain.

"Obviously, you rehearse so much in the week. You sit there in the waiting room, waiting to go on and watching it and you think you're watching it last year, and then you think that's my friend out there.

"Then you go up there and do it and then you go back and sit there."

This Saturday, at 6.40pm, Chris and the other remaining four contestants will be singing with an orchestra in a tribute to the big-band era.

"I've been looking forward to this week and the Beatles week," said Chris. "These are my stronger weeks. We all hated disco, we just hated it."