Stars in Their Eyes | |
---|---|
Genre | Talent show |
Created by |
Joop van den Ende Henny Huisman |
Presented by |
Leslie Crowther (1990–92) Russ Abbot (1993 Elvis special) Matthew Kelly (1993–2004) Davina McCall (2003 specials) Cat Deeley (2003–06) 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 |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format |
4:3 (1990–2000) 16:9 (2001–06, 2015) |
Original release | 21 July 1990 | – 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 by Harry Hill, began airing on 10 January 2015 until 14 February 2015, it was reported on 17 April it had been axed by ITV due to poor ratings.
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, Cher, George Michael, Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
In February 1990, Leslie Crowther was chosen as the host of the show which began airing on 21 July 1990. Crowther hosted the first three series, and a Christmas Special in 1991. At the time of his car accident in October 1992, he was booked to record an Elvis Presley special hosted by Russ Abbot and a fourth series hosted by Matthew Kelly in 1993.
It later became apparent that Crowther would not be able to return. Thereafter, Kelly hosted the show until 13 March 2004. However in January 2003 Kelly was arrested by police over allegations of child sex abuse resulting in Davina McCall temporarily hosting the show before Kelly returned in August 2003 after the charges were dropped. Kelly also hosted the 2001 pilot episode and first series of the kids version (in 2002).