[tellyblues]

Production on Starstruck paused for now. They were taking applications expecting that the series would get a recommission. Maybe it still will be but for later on in the year. The numbers for S2 were decent but ITV will maybe want to try something new in the slot.

That’s interesting, and must be a fairly recent change to the website. I thought the numbers for series 2 were a bit disappointing given the slot it has. Do we think they’ve maybe got cold feet on a third series?

There's enough "names" left for another series, some more popular than who have featured already (Bowie, MJ, Madonna) but it won't amount to a huge difference in viewing figures. ITV will probably be thinking that a new format can do better than hovering around the 3m mark but I'm not so sure.

[Gary Baldy]

That’s interesting, and must be a fairly recent change to the website. I thought the numbers for series 2 were a bit disappointing given the slot it has. Do we think they’ve maybe got cold feet on a third series?

There's enough "names" left for another series, some more popular than who have featured already (Bowie, MJ, Madonna) but it won't amount to a huge difference in viewing figures. ITV will probably be thinking that a new format can do better than hovering around the 3m mark but I'm not so sure.

I guess the problem is that with a show like this, they want to new tribute acts all the time and not people doing, say Cher, every series. However, the issue with that is that 1. Most of the huge stars have already been done (bar the ones you’ve listed I think)- you don’t want them doing minor band members like Stars in Their Eyes seemed to turn into in its dying days in the mid-00s, you want somebody who’s universally recognisable, and 2. piggybacking off that, whilst there’s always new musicians breaking through, there’s very few successful big characters in the music scene now compared to what there once was- the likes of Olivia Rodrigo or Camila Cabello all blend into one- good voices but not strong enough characters to really pay tribute to. Whilst the two I mentioned are perfectly good recording artists, they’re not musical legends (in fact very few are), whereas go back 35 years or so and you had legends left, right and centre. I think for a tribute act, you’d want to pay tribute to a huge musical legend, not something bland and passable. I don’t know who the last act I’d say was a true musical legend but I’d say it’s been at least 20 years.

[WhoOdyssey]

Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Adele surely can be considered ‘legends’ at this point? Possibly Bruno Mars too.

[Newshound47]

All four of those have been done in the first two series.

[Brekkie]

Although Stars in their Eyes got through 50-60 acts a year, though presumably weren't too worried about repeats other than perhaps the finalists.

[tellyblues]

Although Stars in their Eyes got through 50-60 acts a year, though presumably weren't too worried about repeats other than perhaps the finalists.

And they almost always got contestants to perform different songs by the artists. Starstruck's format wouldn't lend itself well to repeats because the need for three people to sound like someone, the judges feedback which would end up going over the same old ground and the time it takes to go through one act in an episode. On SITE, it would take 5 minutes which isn't so bad but on Starstruck it can be 15 mins.

[RyoG]

Over on Twitter, John Lowe has posted a few photos which were apparently taken during the recording of one of the untransmitted pilot episodes of Bullseye:

twitter.com 

[eyeTV]

The 1% Club gets a 16 episode series 3 commission and Christmas Specials.

www.itv.com 

ITV commissions series three of The 1% Club | Press Centre
Lee Mack’s award-winning hit game show to return for a new extended 16x60 run. P…
  Source: www.itv.com

[tellyblues]

Putting it in Starstruck's slot would work if there is concern about the size of the drop-off of the audience from SNT. Also, having an absence of performance/singing shows for two months maybe wouldn't be such a bad idea in the long run.

[tellyblues]

Sat 20th - The Wheel returns to BBC1, repeats though.

In With A Shout ends this week. It hasn't performed terribly but nothing to write home about.