Ananova:

Michelle McManus is preparing to give stardom her "best shot", after being crowned the nation's second Pop Idol, proving that size doesn't matter.

One of the judges, Pete Waterman, stormed off in disgust after the vote, though the TV audience could not see this.

Michelle, 15 stone and a size 20, says she would love to be like her idol Madonna, or Dido, while admitting she doesn't conform to the usual image of a pop star.

But she said: "Whether it lasts a year or 20 years, I'm going to give it my best shot."

Michelle has won a recording contract worth £2 million with BMG and will be represented by the 19 management company.

The 23-year-old Glaswegian broke down in tears after winning the public's support and beating underdog Mark Rhodes on the grand final of the ITV 1 show last night.

After the show's hosts Ant and Dec announced she was the winner, she said: "I just want to say thanks - and to everyone who said I couldn't do it, I've done it."

But Waterman left the building and did not appear at the ITV2 programme which followed the show where the other three judges chatted with the winner.

He told people around him: "I just want to leave now because I don't want to detract from the final. This is not about me being negative, it's about the winner."

Waterman had told her on an earlier show; "You're not a pop idol, you will never be a pop idol. That's not to say you're not a great singer. You're a good singer, a great singer but you're not a pop idol."

Reliving her moment of triumph, Michelle later said: "I was so shocked that I found my knees going from underneath me and I thought, 'Oh my God, live TV,' and I threw my head back, I couldn't do much else, I couldn't speak, I was just crying."