Rik Waller is now an exam invigilator in Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne Pop Idol flop Rik Waller has revealed he has lost his singing voice - so has become an exam invigilator.

Reality TV favourite Waller, 31, made it to the last 10 of the ITV1 contest in 2001 before withdrawing with severe laryngitis.

But the heavyweight contestant, of Leigh Road, still became a household name before his career nose-dived - with one of his gigs in in 2004 selling just two tickets.

Waller revealed the vocal chords that bagged him a No.6 single hit with I Will Always Love You can now only yodel.

It means he has abandoned his singing career and works full-time overseeing secondary school exams for Piper Assessment, in Sittingbourne.

But rather than leaving music completely, he is running a mobile karaoke and disco business which he tours venues with his father Kris, 63, in his spare time.

And Richard, who still lives with his father and mother Christine, also revealed he has now changed his name to Richard - not Rik.

Richard, pictured right in Maidstone in 2001, said: "The most demoralising thing I've ever had to do was queue up at the job centre and have people look at me saying, 'What a failure'.

"When you've lost the ability to do the job you've always done, it's an incredible stab in the back to find people are actually laughing at you.

"It's why I don't make a lot of effort to talk to the press these days - it can be more trouble than it's worth. I was never attacked physically but I had plenty of people come up to me and be particularly offensive."

He added: "If you've got a roof over your head and food on the table I don't know how anyone can be truly unhappy."

Richard's dad, Kris, who remains his son's manager, said his change in career was forced upon him due to his vocal problems that have left him yodelling rather than singing.

Ex-Pop Idol contestant Rik Waller with father Kris in Sittingbourne

He lost his singing voice due to scar tissue as a result of the vocal problem that forced him to quit Pop Idol.

Kris said: "When he hits a note he sounds like he is yodelling."

Richard said he does not get any hassle as an invigilator despite his Pop Idol past.

He said: "It is great to be able to help people who are in the same situation as I was."

But Rick also finds time to run Starsearch Entertainment, a karaoke/disco firm, and says he can foresee a time when he might try the world of politics.