New Faces

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This article is about the British show. For the Australian version, see New Faces (Australian). There is currently no article about the British comedy review 'New Faces' (1940) in which Judy Campbell first sang A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square. For the American Broadway revue of 1952 and the 1954 film version, see New Faces of 1952.

New Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 1974 to 1980 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham. The show was noted for its theme tune, "You're a Star", performed by singer Carl Wayne, formerly of The Move, and it was eventually released, becoming a minor hit.

Winners often went on to greater success in television entertainment. Many top entertainers began their careers with a performance on this programme. The acts were evaluated by a panel of experts, including Mickie Most, Alan A. Freeman, Clive James, Muriel Young, Ted Ray, Ed Stewart, Arthur Askey, Noel Edmonds and Tony Hatch. Most and Hatch were especially notorious for being "hard" on contestants.

Tony Hatch made the headlines after one episode for giving a contestant whose act solely consisted of a repetitive and elementary 12 bar blues riff a score of zero. Hatch was deemed 'mean' for this.

Contestants received marks out of ten in categories such as "star quality" and "entertainment value". It was seen as a 'tougher' version of the long-running talent show Opportunity Knocks, also shown on ITV.

One winner, Marti Caine, returned to present the show when it was revived briefly in the 1980s by Central Television. Her catchphrase was bellowed at the voting studio audience: "Press your buttons... NOW!". The show also featured a panel of experts including the journalist Nina Myskow, who became famous for her often critical comments. In this incarnation the audience decided who won, with a gigantic lightboard known as Spaghetti Junction lighting up to a varying degree as they pushed their buttons.

1 Famous winners & contestants
2 Not so famous winners & contestants
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Famous winners & contestants

Marti Caine
Lenny Henry (multiple wins)
Michael Barrymore
Joe Pasquale 2nd in 1987Joe won his heat but he came second in the final
Roy Walker
The Chuckle Brothers (1974)
Malandra Burrows (1974, youngest winner at 9 years old)
Carline and Walling
Victoria Wood
Les Dennis
Showaddywaddy
Jim Davidson
Gary Wilmot and Judy McPhee
Fivepenny Piece
Aiden J Harvey
Patti Boulaye (appeared in the last 1970s edition of the show and was the only contestant ever to receive the maximum 120 points)
Max Bacon
Andy Cameron
Sheer Elegance (Pop trio who went on to have two hit singles in 1976)