Pop Idol's Mark Rhodes started a whirlwind week of promotions in Birmingham today ahead of the grand final.
 The 22-year-old from Darlaston (pictured) will spend the week touring the country on his own battle bus in a bid to win the support of fans in advance of Saturday's showdown. The eventual winner will be offered a recording contract, with the song All This Time released as the first single. Fellow finalist Michelle McManus was setting out on her tour from her home town, Glasgow. Mark called in at BRMB in Birmingham before leaving for Wolverhampton. Because of a gagging clause by bosses at the popular ITV talent show, Mark is not allowed to tell the Evening Mail how he feels about his amazing success. But Tina Shaw, mother of Mark's fiancee Helen, said his family were convinced he had been getting better each week and could win outright. His trip will take in his old school, Darlaston Community, in Herberts Park Road, as well as Molineux, home of his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Wolverhampton Civic Centre. Security around Mark has been tightened up because he is being stalked by a female fan in her 20s or 30s. Sam Nixon had been expected to make the final, but he was sensationally voted off the show on Saturday in the shock result of the series. The cute-faced 17-year-old from Barnsley put a brave face on his defeat, but admitted he was gutted. "Of course there's a part of me that's gutted, it's just bugging me that I didn't get to the final, but I'm not as upset as I thought I would be," he said. Sam had been the bookies' favourite and was expected to breeze through. But he was pipped by Michelle, aged 22, and rank outsider Mark. All 12 Pop Idol finalists are bidding for the Christmas No.1 in the singles charts with a cover of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono hit Happy Xmas (War is Over). Bookmakers Ladbrokes make Michelle, once at 33-1, the new favourite to win at 1-2, with Mark at 6-4. He was once put at 50-1. | 
