Big budget new TV talent show in the works as music bosses hunt for the ‘next One Direction’
ITV’S Popstars could be making a comeback – 21 years after it launched.
The talent show, which gave us Hear'Say and Girls Aloud, looks like the inspiration for a new series aimed at creating a boyband in the same vein as One Direction.
Though its name has yet to be revealed, it is being made by a trio of ex-ITV bigwigs, including Nigel Hall, who was an executive producer on follow-up, Popstars: The Rivals.
A TV insider said: “First ITV brought back Big Brother, then the BBC brought back Survivor. Now this might form the holy trinity of big shows from two decades ago.
“There’s been a boom in popularity for programmes from that time among Millennials. But what they
want is to go back to the origins of these shows.
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“X Factor may be the best known and most recent talent contest, but it was Popstars that kicked it all off.”
Popstars launched in 2001 as a documentary looking at auditions for a new band — and how the handpicked members evolved to seal a record deal.
Hopefuls from the series, including Myleene Klass and Kym Marsh, went on to form Hear’Say.
A year later, we had Popstars: The Rivals, hosted by Davina McCall, which followed a format more like the traditional TV talent contest and produced girl group Girls Aloud.
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The new show in the pipeline, which has yet to be linked to a specific channel, is also described as a “documentary” following the formation of a boy band.
‘Substantial travel’
Participants are being sought by a new company called Moon&Back, led by Nigel, former head of light entertainment at ITV and one-time exec producer on Britain’s Got Talent.
He has also worked on I’m A Celebrity and was behind Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
And he was a top executive at Simon Cowell's media firm Syco, which helped launch the careers of 1D and Little Mix.
Nigel is joined by Ant and Dec’s former manager Russ Lindsay and Dawn Airey, who was once ITV’s director of global content.
A casting call has just been issued for people aged 18 to 23, with scouts saying they are “looking for the next generation of superstars to form a brand new five-piece boy band”.
The appeal adds: “If you can dance, sing and have a big personality to match, we want to hear from you.”
But it warns: “Substantial travel will be involved and successful applicants will be residing outside of the UK from January to July 2024.”
If this doesn’t turn out to be an actual reboot of Popstars, it sure sounds like a familiar format . . .
BRENDAN: ZARA’S A GONER
FORMER Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole has given his verdict on the latest round of celebrity hopefuls.
And it’s not looking good for Zara McDermott.
Brendan, who left the show in 2018 and has been a judge on New Zealand’s version, Dancing With The Stars, thinks she will not go any further.
Speaking to Sky Bingo, he said: “She’s not a dancer, she doesn’t feel it. She’s a beautiful girl but doesn’t create beauty on the dance floor.
“There are a few in the bottom of the competition that are kind of hanging on.
“You can’t have everybody being amazing. She’s not going to go too much further unless a miracle happens.”
Who needs Craig Revel Horwood with Brendan around? Chin up, Zara!
FORMER Corrie star Melanie Hill is joining the cast of Casualty.
She will play a new character, clinical nurse manager Siobhan Mackenzie, who producers says will “ruffle a few feathers” on the BBC drama. Melanie will appear on screen in 2024.
STARS IN SALUTE TO THE BARD
DAME Judi Dench will be among the A-list celebrities celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio alongside the BBC.
The acting legend, who shot to fame in 1976 playing Lady Macbeth with the Royal Shakespeare Company, will take part as BBC Two and iPlayer air a three-part documentary about the life of the playwright.
Other top guests include Dame Helen Mirren, Brian Cox and Martin Freeman.
BBC Four will feature a star-studded selection of archive performances of The Bard’s materials, including scenes with David Tennant and Sir Ian McKellen.
Meanwhile, ex-EastEnder Rose Ayling-Ellis will star in a second new programme, Shakespeare’s Sonnets – A Modern Love Story.
PRIME Video is introducing a new dating competition into the mix.
US WWE stars Brie and Nikki Garcia – formerly known as the Bella Twins – will host Twin Love, a dating experiment exploring the love lives of identical twins. The show launches on November 17.
CARY ON!
HE looks a far cry from the long, blond locks of Lucius Malfoy.
Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs has been transformed for new ITV drama series Archie, about the life of British-born Hollywood superstar Cary Grant.
It follows a young Archibald Alexander Leach as he grows up in extreme poverty in Bristol in the early 1900s and deals with the loss of his older brother, before he became one of Tinseltown’s best known leading men.
Dainton Anderson, Calam Lynch and Oaklee Pendergast will play younger versions of the Bringing Up Baby actor.
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Meanwhile Gavin & Stacey star Laura Aikman plays his ex-wife, actress and filmmaker Dyan Cannon.
Archie, from screenwriter Jeff Pope, will premiere on ITVX next month.
