As new show Starstruck begins, the judges tell why it’s… Stars In Their Eyes meets the X Factor

One man is strutting his way across the stage in scarily tight scarlet Lycra leggings. Another is descending from the rafters in a yellow biker jacket and white trousers. A third is wearing a harlequin-print unitard, basically a leotard with legs. There is some even scarier moustache action going on.

What’s happening? It’s a trio of Freddie Mercurys, of course, giving it their all in ITV’s newest Saturday night entertainment show. At least the Freddies are in context when they’re on stage though. 

Finding three Barbra Streisands in the car park is another matter. You can trust comedian Jason Manford (mercifully there’s only one of him) to see the funny side.

‘I’ll go for a wander and it’s a bit mad to see three Elton Johns having a cigarette out the back, or three Christina Aguileras waiting for the vending machine. They hang out together all week so they get quite close.

‘Some of them are talking about going on holiday together.’ The idea of three Lady Gagas heading off to Lanzarote is indeed bewitching.

Welcome to the set of Starstruck, a new seven-part TV talent show that’ll feel familiar to anyone of a certain age. Remember Stars In Their Eyes, the iconic show where members of the public would walk through the famous doors as themselves and emerge again as their chosen musical icon? Starstruck is an updated version.

Instead of performing individually, the contestants join forces, meaning that three Marvin Gayes go up against, say, three Ariana Grandes. It’s a case of once, twice, three times a Lionel Richie.

Each week there are four trios competing. They perform one of their idol’s hits, chosen for them by the producers, with the three singers taking alternate verses. Then, a panel of judges offer their take on the performances before voting is handed over to the public. 

One of the four celebrity trios is voted that week’s winner and they then perform again, a different song this time, before one individual from that trio is selected to go through to the grand final. There are six weeks of heats before the finale that will feature the six winning solo performers.

There’s more of everything this time – more make-up, more pizzazz and, of course, more performers. 

‘The format works because we had over ten years of Stars In Their Eyes, but people wouldn’t watch a show with one person standing there,’ says Jason, one of the judges, during a break in filming.

‘We’ve had too many years of Strictly and Britain’s Got Talent. Audiences need pyrotechnics, lights, dancers – the production values are fantastic.’

Four trios perform one of their idol’s hits to the panel of judges before facing the public vote. Pictured: Host Olly Murs with a trio of Lady Gagas

They are, but there was a certain charm in the original version. And there were pyrotechnics too… of sorts. Anyone who saw Eamonn Holmes being Johnny Cash in a celebrity version of Stars In Their Eyes in 2005 will remember that his performance of Ring Of Fire was accompanied by actual fire in the studio. 

The whole shebang is burned in the memory, as is Brian Blessed’s Pavarotti in 2004 and Carol Vorderman’s stunning 1998 turn as Cher.

Alas, there are no celebrities taking part here, but Jason says that a few of the famous singers being impersonated have recorded messages for their competing alter egos. ‘It’s the ultimate sign you’ve made it, isn’t it?’ he says. ‘Watching other people be you on Saturday night telly.’

Olly Murs will host the show, and the judging panel are an eclectic bunch. They can all hold a tune themselves (there is a moment in the show where they perform together).

Jason, 40, may provide the laughs, but he has been in musical theatre before (and he hosted ITV’s Big Night Of Musicals). Joining him on the panel are singers Beverley Knight, 48, and Adam Lambert, 40, who’s most famous for stepping into the real Freddie Mercury’s shoes as lead singer with Queen.

A surprise addition is actress Sheridan Smith, 40, who knows a thing or two about passing yourself off as an iconic voice. Her role in the ITV biopic Cilla saw her ‘become’ the Liverpudlian singer – and to critical acclaim. 

Viewers had goosebumps over how she looked and sounded so much like the real Cilla. What’s the secret? ‘It’s all in the detail,’ she says.

Sheridan (pictured, second from left) said she accepted the opportunity to be a judge because the brief felt like it was about fun 

‘We’re looking for someone who not only sounds like the person, but has the mannerisms, someone who’s studied their singer so much they’ve pinpointed the essence of them. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s mind-blowing. I’m in awe of what they can do.’

Jason and Sheridan go way back. ‘We used to be married,’ he jokes. Not really, but he did work as the warm-up artist entertaining the studio audience on Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, in which Sheridan starred. 

It’s the first time Sheridan has accepted a judging role on a show like this, but she says the change in what is expected of judges made her change her mind – now, kindness is king.

‘I’ve been asked to judge on other shows before and said no as I couldn’t see how I would fit in. But when I got the brief for this, it felt different, it was about everything being fun – triple the fun.’ 

And she wouldn’t have to be a ‘nasty’ Simon Cowell type. ‘I couldn’t do that. I don’t know how people do.’

The judges don’t have to here. The mood is celebratory and, crucially, says Jason, there is no sense that a contestant’s life will be ruined if they don’t win. 

‘I’ll never be negative about anyone,’ he says, joking about how, if a performer hasn’t impressed him, he’ll say, ‘You had great energy there. You seemed to be enjoying it.’ So is this a new ‘let’s be nice’ era for these types of talent shows? He thinks so. 

Contestants include bus drivers, carers and IT specialists as well as performers who have made a living from entertaining. Pictured: Host Olly Murs with a trio of Marvin Gayes

‘It isn’t actually a talent show as these people are already talented. It’s more about entertaining people. I think the problem with shows like BGT or The X Factor is that there was a lot riding on them. The stakes were high. 

‘I have a cousin who spent 12 years auditioning for The X Factor, queuing outside Old Trafford to audition every year. All that investment in time and energy to get 30 seconds. I couldn’t do that.’ 

Sheridan nods. ‘I couldn’t either.’

The contestants come from all backgrounds, there are bus drivers and carers competing against IT specialists and teachers. There are performers who have made a living from entertaining, such as on cruise ships, but there’s one strict rule: they must not have been a professional impersonator of the person they’re becoming.

‘A lot of them are living their dream,’ says Sheridan. ‘One man has seen his idol 22 times in concert.’ Beverley Knight says she accepted the gig as she is a ‘music nerd’ who is obsessed with the technicalities of voice and tone. 

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUN… NOT THE MONEY 

Pictured: The trio of Freddie Mercurys 

There’s no record contract up for grabs on Starstruck, no career on offer. There is a cash prize of £50,000, ‘which might be worth more than a record deal,’ jokes Jason Manford.

But the contestants, like the trio of Freddie Mercurys, aren’t expecting to hit the jackpot. ‘There’s a 71-year-old who’s a lifelong Lionel Richie fan, and becoming Lionel is on his bucket list,’ says Jason.

‘He’s not expecting a career out of it. It takes the pressure off the panel. We aren’t ruining anyone’s life, we’re just saying, ‘Let’s have a laugh.’

She’s been stunned by how close some of the contestants get to looking and sounding like their heroes. ‘A lot of it is about what type of voice you have to start with,’ she says. 

‘I couldn’t be Tina Turner, for instance. Her voice is too gravelly for me. I could do a Whitney Houston though as my voice is more pure, like hers was.’

Interestingly, when Adam Lambert was offered the chance to join Queen as a replacement for the surely irreplaceable Freddie Mercury, he made a point of not trying to ape Freddie’s voice or mannerisms. 

‘But in order to make sure I didn’t do that, I had to study what they were,’ he points out. ‘It’s interesting to watch how other people interpret them, and to see how close they can get. 

‘Some of them get pretty close, but it’s all in the effort. It’s not just a fancy dress party with music. They really have to do their homework, and the danger is that they become a comedic parody.’

One issue for the producers was striking a balance between what they call ‘heritage acts’ – the Eltons and the Freddies – and newer stars. ‘It’s been done so that there’s something for everyone,’ says Adam.

He also admits that some stars are near impossible to impersonate. ‘Some artists are very difficult to emulate. Take Céline Dion, she has a voice gifted from the heavens – no one else sounds like her. But, if someone can get the essence of that singer, they can get close to ‘becoming’ them.’

Which stars would the judges ‘do’ if they were contestants? Jason and Adam go for Elvis, perhaps the ultimate showman, but Sheridan has other ideas. She’d like to strut about in ‘a pair of fake boobs and a big blonde wig’ as an iconic country star. 

‘Dolly Parton without a shadow of a doubt,’ she says. ‘I’m obsessed with her. My parents were a country and western duo so I grew up with country music. I’d have to practise but she’s my idol.’

Starstruck is part of a new wave of shows that were conceived of and produced during the pandemic. All four judges had been booked to do other projects before Covid scuppered them, and were part of the showbiz scramble to look for short-term career alternatives. 

‘Everyone had to pivot,’ admits Adam. Beverley was particularly thrown. She says her mum got sick ‘with suspected Covid’, which was a scary experience. 

Pictured left to right: Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Olly Murs, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford

‘My sister was driving her to the hospital but the doctors decided she could be treated at home. The whole thing was terrifying. This fear gripped me by the throat. I was on the phone to her every day, crying my eyes out.’

Her emotional recovery, she says, involved singing. Her mate Gary Barlow (who she does a mean impression of) convinced her to sing on one of his pandemic crooner sessions, then she collaborated with a gospel choir to raise funds for the NHS. 

‘I found respite through music, which I always do,’ she says. ‘But it was really joyful to get back to work and celebrate others doing the same.’

Sheridan – who also crooned with Gary – was in a different position, adjusting to life as a single mother to her son Billy, who was born in 2020 (she has since split with Billy’s dad, Jamie Horn). But her career has gone from strength to strength. 

She gave a stellar performance in the drama Four Lives, where she played the mother of one of serial killer Stephen Port’s victims, and can currently be seen in The Teacher as an English teacher accused of having sex with a pupil and No Return as a mum whose son is arrested on a family trip to Turkey. 

These roles don’t scream ‘fun’, which is perhaps why doing Starstruck was so attractive.

Jason Manford wins the prize for the biggest pivot, though. During the pandemic he volunteered at a local charity, driving people to hospital appointments. It was the role of his life, he says.

‘I loved it. It came as a shock to realise that comedians and entertainers were non-essential, so doing a bit of driving was a way of pitching in. Plus, I have six kids so it got me out of the house.’

Did his passengers, mostly little old ladies going to get their vaccinations, know who he was? Hilariously, most didn’t recognise him. 

‘Although I did get a call from the charity saying that a few people had requested me again. First I thought they must have recognised me off the telly, then the penny dropped… I just had a nicer car than the other drivers.’  

Starstruck, tonight, 8.30pm, ITV.