Stars in Their Eyes
| Stars in Their Eyes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Created by |
Joop van den Ende Henny Huisman |
| Presented by |
Leslie Crowther (1990–92) Matthew Kelly (1993–2004) Cat Deeley (2004–06) Harry Hill (2015) |
| Voices of |
Peter Dickson Sally Lindsay Andrew Brittain |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series |
17 (main series) 4 (kids series) |
| No. of episodes |
172 (main series) 33 (kids series) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Granada Studios (1990–2006) Elstree Studios (2015) |
| Running time |
30 minutes (1990–93) 45 minutes (1994–2006) 65 minutes (2015) |
| Production company(s) |
Granada in association with J. E. Entertainment and Action Time (1990–2006) Initial (2015) |
| Distributor |
ITV Studios Endemol UK |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1990–2000) 16:9 (2001–06) |
| Original run |
Original series: 21 July 1990 – 23 December 2006 Revived series: 10 January 2015 – 14 February 2015 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Soundmixshow Your Face Sounds Familiar |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| Production website | |
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that originally ran on Saturday nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars. It was produced by Granada for ITV and based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format, Soundmixshow. A revived version of the show was hosted by Harry Hill, which began airing on 10 January 2015 until 14 February 2015, it was reported on 17 April that series has been axed by ITV due to poor ratings and reviews.[1]
It remains one of Britain's most successful shows, attracting around 13 million viewers for the live grand final at the end of each series. It has one of the most memorable catchphrases in TV history: "Tonight (presenter name), I'm going to be..." and was named most popular entertainment show at the National Television Awards in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
The most impersonated stars are Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Peter Green, Cher, George Michael, Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
Overview
Stars in Their Eyes is a talent show where contestants get the chance to appear and sing live 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.
Format
Heats
The contestants appear firstly as themselves, talking briefly to the host about their lives and giving clues as to who they are going to be performing as, finishing with the now famous catchphrase 'Tonight [presenter name] 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 about five minutes later (The word 'singer' could be used loosely as in 1997 Julian Clary who is not known for his vocal skills was impersonated on the show by Steve Edward).
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 grand final to perform once more.
Grand Final
1990–1992
In the original Leslie Crowther version, the grand finals were pre-recorded and the winner of the whole series was voted for by the studio audience.
1993–2005
When Matthew Kelly took over, the grand finals were broadcast live and the winner of the whole series was voted for by the viewing public through the phone lines and in some years online as well. The winner was announced later on that same evening in a separate broadcast.
2015
Harry Hill took over on 10 January 2015, with all episodes pre-recorded by BBC Studios and Post Production at the BBC's Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, and the winner of each show again voted for by the studio audience. The revival has proved divisive - fans of the original format were critical of it, saying that Harry Hill had made the show about him rather than the contestants; while others acknowledged that the revival was a post-modern parody of the original, with its knowing ridicule of talent show cliches such as terrible performances being overpraised, and the actions of the presenter receiving high editorial focus to distract from the outdated performance element being thinly stretched.[2] Each episode features Harry being pursued by Adele (really a look-a-like) for being in possession of her baby and would comically chase him until she got the baby back.
Episode guide
Transmissions
Series
Stars in Their Eyes: Kids
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Specials
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Champions
Regular
- Series 1 – Maxine Barrie as Shirley Bassey
- Series 2 – Bernard Wenton as Nat "King" Cole
- Series 3 – Amanda Normansell as Patsy Cline
- Series 4 – Jacquii Cann as Alison Moyet
- Series 5 – John Finch as Marti Pellow
- Series 6 – Lee Griffiths as Bobby Darin
- Series 7 – Paul Doody as Marti Pellow
- Series 8 – Faye Dempsey as Olivia Newton-John
- Series 9 – Jason Searle as Neil Diamond
- Series 10 – Ian Moor as Chris De Burgh (also won Champion of Champions)
- Series 11 – Garry Mullen as Freddie Mercury
- Series 12 – Nicola Kirsch as Maria Callas
- Series 13 – Emma Wilkinson as Dusty Springfield
- Series 14 – Stewart Duff as Elvis Presley
- Series 15 – Charles Ngandwe as Paul Robeson
- Series 16 – Gordon Hendricks as Elvis Presley
- Series 17 – Peter Sarsfield as Frankie Valli
Junior
- Series 1 – Charlotte Gethin as Eva Cassidy
- Series 2 – Laura Jenkins as Connie Francis
- Series 3 – Paul Cowperthwaite as Michael Jackson
- Series 4 – Christopher Napier as George Formby
Overseas format
Italy – A show with the same format shows on Canale 5, called Sei un mito ("You are a myth").
New Zealand – In 2008, a New Zealand version of Stars in Their Eyes began screening on TVNZ, TV One. The show, hosted by former children's television presenter and game show host Simon Barnett, is filmed in Auckland and produced by Imagination TV. Season One winner was Deryn Trainer singing Billy Joel's "Piano Man". A second series began screening on TV ONE on 28 April 2009
Portugal – A version of the show ran through from 1993 to 2000 on SIC, called Chuva de Estrelas (literally "Rain of Stars", but actually a wordplay with "Star shower", another colloquial expression for meteor showers).
Spain – A version of the show ran through from 1995 to 2001 on Antena 3, called Lluvia de estrellas (literally Rain of Stars), later revived on TVE in 2007. Antena 3 created a similar format, under the title Tu cara me suena, in 2011. A UK version of this was produced by ITV in 2013.
Sweden – The format was translated to Swedish television by TV4 with the name Sikta mot stjänorna ("Aim for the stars").
See also
- Soundmixshow
- European Soundmix Show
- Stars in Euro Eyes 2001
- Stars in Their Eyes European Championships 2002