Stars In Their Eyes
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| Stars In Their Eyes | |
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| Format | Talent Show |
| Run time | 60 minutes |
| Starring | Chris Tarrant; Leslie Crowther (1990-1992); Russ Abbott; Matthew Kelly (1993-2004); Davina McCall (2003); Cat Deeley (2004-2006) |
| Channel | ITV1 |
| Production company | Granada Television (ITV Productions) |
| Air dates | 1990 – |
| No. of series | 16 |
Stars In Their Eyes is a British television talent show in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars. It is made by Granada Television for ITV1. Based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format, The Soundmixshow
Debuting in 1990, it remains one of the UK's most successful shows attracting around 13 million viewers for the live grand final at the end of each series.
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[edit] Overview
'Stars in Their Eyes' is a talent show were contestants get the chance to appear and sing, as a famous singer. The show is most importantly a 'soundalike' show, but they are also dressed up to look as close as possible to the singer they are impersonating, often with wigs and heavy makeup!
The contestants appear firstly as themselves, talking briefly to the host about their lives and who they are going to be performing as, finishing with the now famous catchphrase 'Tonight.....I'm going to be....' The contestants then disappear through the equally famous doors, and reappear as the famous singer they are going to impersonate.
At the end of the show, the studio audience vote for their favourite, and the winner is announced. The winners from each show in the series return for the series finale, the live grand final.
In the live grand final, the winners of each show return and perform once more. At the end of the performances, the phone lines open and the viewing public get the chance to phone in and vote for their favourite. The winner is announced later the same evening in a separate broadcast.
Over the years the show has seen a lot of changes: changes from the 1990 set; new set in 1998 and the newest set in 2002; the logo has also changed over the years. There have been 6 hosts: Chris Tarrant (Hosted an unaired pilot in 1989); Leslie Crowther, Russ Abbott (one-off emergency host after Leslie's car accident), Matthew Kelly, Davina McCall and now Cat Deeley.
There have been several spin-off versions of the show as well, including:
- Stars In Their Eyes Elvis Special
- Stars In Their Eyes Kids
- Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes
- Christmas Stars In Their Eyes and
- Stars In Euro Eyes.
[edit] Previous winners
[edit] Original format
| Year | Name of contestant | Appeared on the show as... | Votes polled in the final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Maxine Barry | Shirley Bassey | ? |
| 1991 | Bernie Wenton | Nat King Cole | ? |
| 1992 | Amanda Normansell | Patsy Cline | ? |
| 1993 | Jacqui Cann | Alison Moyet | 40,657 |
| 1994 | John Finch | Marti Pellow | 150,255 |
| 1995 | Lee Griffiths | Bobby Darin | 177,757 |
| 1996 | Paul Doody | Marti Pellow | 178,212 |
| 1997 | Faye Dempsey | Olivia Newton-John | 287,436 |
| 1998 | Jason Searle | Neil Diamond | 205,333 |
| 1999 | Ian Moor | Chris de Burgh | 501,868 |
| 2000 | Gary Mullen | Freddie Mercury | 864,838 |
| 2000 | Nicola Kirsch | Maria Callas | 474,146 |
| 2001 | Emma Wilkinson | Dusty Springfield | 204,970 |
| 2002 | Stewart Duff | Elvis Presley | 240,731 |
| 2004 | Charles Ngandwe | Paul Robeson | 144,468 |
| 2005 | Gordon Hendricks | Elvis Presley | 84,895 |
[edit] Stars In Their Eyes Champion of Champions
In October 1999, the first 10 series winners were brought together for a 10-year anniversary special, called the 'Champion of Champions'.
This show was won by the 10th series winner, Ian Moor as Chris de Burgh with a total of 481,525 votes.
[edit] Stars In Their Eyes Kids
'Stars In Their Eyes Kids' shows debuted as a one-off show in 2001. This was followed in 2002 by a seven-part series. which was won by Charlotte Geffen as Eva Cassidy, who beat kids mimicking Donny Osmond, Irene Cara, Millie Small, Nelly Furtado and Robbie Williams in the final.
'Stars In Their Eyes Kids' 2003 was won by Laura Jenkins, as Connie Francis, with a total of 156,455 votes.
'Stars In Their Eyes Kids' 2004, was won by Paul Cowperthwaite as Michael Jackson singing ABC, with a total of 61,877 votes.
'Stars In Their Eyes Kids' 2006, was won by Christopher Napier as George Formby
[edit] Stars In Euro Eyes
'Stars In Euro Eyes' in 2001 was won by Belgium's Sunny O'Brien as Celine Dion.
The 'Stars In Their Eyes' European Championships in 2002 was won by Ireland's Rebecca O'Connor as Tina Turner.
[edit] Celebrity specials
Celebrity editions of the show have been aired occasionally since 1998, and although a winner was announced for each show, unlike the original format each has so far been just a one-off special.
The first 'Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes' featured Tricia Penrose (actress from Heartbeat) as Lisa Stansfield, Frank Skinner as Elvis Costello, Carol Vorderman as Cher, and Steven Houghton as Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley. Five of the cast of soap Coronation Street became The Spice Girls.
The first 2002 edition was won by Debra Stephenson (Bad Girls) as Kylie Minogue. She beat Sally Lindsay (Coronation Street) as Dolly Parton, football presenter Gabby Logan as Sharleen Spiteri of Texas, Lisa Riley as Stockard Channing in Grease and Esther Rantzen as Edith Piaf.
The second 2002 edition was won by Rolf Harris as Jarvis Cocker. He beat The Honeyz as The Supremes, Kim Wilde as Doris Day, Brian Harvey as UB40's Ali Campbell and Allstars as Steps.
The third 2002 edition was won by Julia Sawalha as Cerys Matthews. She beat Anne Diamond as Sheena Easton, Terry Venables as Anthony Newley, Rachel Hunter as Marilyn Monroe and Richard Standing as Gary Barlow.
The fourth 2002 show saw Boy George as David Bowie beat Tracy Shaw as P!nk, Kim Wilde as Carly Simon, Frank Skinner as Johnny Ray and Caprice as Nancy Sinatra.
The 2002 Coronation Street Special was won by Nikki Sanderson as Leanne Rimes. She beat Bruce Jones as Dean Martin, Jennifer James as Shania Twain, Kevin Kennedy as Bryan Adams and Sue Cleaver as Judith Durham.
'Stars In Their Eyes' Special: Legends in 2003 saw Jane Danson as Madonna beat Julie Goodyear as Marlene Dietrich, Ron Atkinson as Frank Sinatra, Rhona Cameron and Tony Blackburn as Cliff Richard.
The 2003 Coronation Street Special featured Samia Ghadie as Holly Valance, Andrew Whyment as Don Henley, Shobna Gulati as Diana Ross, Bruno Langley as Robbie Williams and Lucy-Jo Hudson as Kelly Osbourne.
The 2003 Soap Stars Special was won by Deena Payne and Antony Audenshaw as Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. They beat Bernie Nolan as Anastacia, Sammy Winward as Christina Aguilera, William Roache as Perry Como and Lesley Joseph as Ethel Merman.
The 2003 'I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here' Special was won by Catalina Guirado as Debbie Harry. She beat Toyah Wilcox as Patti Smith, Uri Geller as Charles Aznavour, John Fashanu as Otis Redding and Sian Lloyd as Deborah Strickland of The Flying Lizards.
'Stars In Their Eyes' Soap Stars Special 2003 was won by Richard Fleeshman as Will Young. He beat David Nielson as Roy Orbison, Emily Symons as Rosemary Clooney, Jonathan Wrather as Harry Connick Jr and Suranne Jones as Catherine Zeta Jones.
'Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes' Christmas Special 2003 was won by You’ve Been Framed! host Jonathan Wilkes as Neil Diamond. He beat Russell Grant as Anthony Newley, Samantha Fox as Dusty Springfield, Brigitte Nielsen as Annie Lennox and Angela Lonsdale as Sharleen Spiteri.
'Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes' in April 2004 was won by Brian Blessed as Luciano Pavarotti. He beat Nikki Sanderson as Britney Spears, Alison Hammond as Nina Simone, Patrick Mower and Liam O'Brien as Dr Hook, and DJ Mike Read as Cliff Richard.
'Stars In Their Eyes' Soap Stars Special 2004 was won by Shaun Williamson as Meat Loaf. He beat Lisa Maxwell as Doris Day, Wendi Peters as Kirsty MacColl, Michael Starke as Paul Carrack and Lucy Pargeter as Emma Bunton.
'Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes' in May 2004 was won by Amy Nuttall as Sarah Brightman. She beat Lucy Benjamin as Gwen Stefani, James Gaddas as Robert Palmer, Beverley Callard as Cher and Roger Black as James Taylor.
'Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes' in July 2004 was won by former EastEnders star Jack Ryder as Justin Timberlake. He beat Verity Rushworth as Rachel Stevens, Chris Finch as Marti Pellow, Tim Healy as Joe Cocker and Penny Smith as Debbie Harry.
'Stars In Their Eyes' Christmas Special 2004 was won by Tricia Penrose as Brenda Lee. She beat James Hewitt as Bing Crosby, Kerry McFadden as Marilyn Monroe, Tony Audenshaw as Roy Wood and Rupert Hill as Chris Rea.
[edit] Miscellaneous
The show has one of the most memorable catchphrases in TV history:- 'Tonight.....I'm going to be....'
The most impersonated stars are Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Cher, George Michael and Madonna.
The programme was named most popular entertainment show at the National TV Awards in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
The finals during Leslie Crowther's era were pre-recorded.
Matthew Kelly was inititally hired as caretaker host following Leslie's car accident in 1992, but became permanent when Leslie was unable to return.
For the first two series (1990-1991) the shows were 30 minutes each. From 1992, the shows were 45 minutes each and also filmed profiles of the star guests were added.
Matthew Kelly made his announcement on GMTV saying that The 'Stars in Their Eyes' Live Final 2004 would be his last as he was quitting the show to take up acting full time.
For the first series grand final of 'Stars in Their Eyes' they had a celebrity panel of record producer Pete Waterman, Actress Sally Whittaker better known as Sally Webster in Coronation Street and impressionist Joe Longthorne.
