| Soapstar Superstar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Presented by | Ben Shephard (2006) Fern Britton (2006) Zoe Ball (2007) |
| Judges | Billy Sammeth Chris Cowey Cilla Black (2006) Martine McCutcheon (2007) Michael Ball (2007) David Gest (2007) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Granada Studios |
| Running time | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Production company | Granada |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 6 January 2006 (2006-01-06) – 13 January 2007 (2007-01-13) |
Soapstar Superstar is a Britishtalent show that aired onITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that ofPop Idol andThe X Factor, in that the competition features a group ofsoap opera actors performing in front of a celebrity panel of judges, with the weakest performers being eliminated when they receive the fewest votes from the judges and a public vote. Unlike these shows, the audience decides upon the song contestants sung in the next round, with the eliminated contestant joining the judging panel for that episode to save one of the other contestants and decide on which song they would sing next.
The first series was hosted byFern Britton andBen Shephard, withJayne Middlemiss andDuncan James hosting a companion show for the series onITV2, entitledSoapstar Superstar: Extra Tracks. For the second series, the show was presented byZoe Ball,[1] with the ITV2 companion show, retitled asSoapstar Superstar: Bonus Tracks, hosted byMark Durden-Smith,Sheree Murphy andRob Deering. Both series featuredBilly Sammeth andChris Cowey as part of the judging panel, with assistance fromCilla Black in 2006, andMartine McCutcheon andMichael Ball in 2007.
| Place | Actor | Soap |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Richard Fleeshman | Coronation Street |
| 2nd | Andy Whyment | Coronation Street |
| 3rd | Lucy Pargeter | Crossroads &Emmerdale |
| 4th | Roxanne Pallett | Emmerdale |
| 5th | Lee Otway | Hollyoaks |
| 6th | Wendi Peters | Coronation Street |
| 7th | Shobna Gulati | Coronation Street |
| 8th | Nicholas Bailey | EastEnders |
| 9th | Michael Greco | EastEnders |
| 10th | Sammy Winward | Emmerdale |
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 January 2006 (2006-01-06) | 14 January 2006 (2006-01-14) | 8 |
| 2 | 5 January 2007 (2007-01-05) | 13 January 2007 (2007-01-13) | 10 |
On 18 October 2007, after an in-depth investigation of ITV phone-in shows byDeloitte, it was revealed that phone-in votes for songs and even votes for contestants to go through to the next round had been manipulated by the programme makers. This involved some 20% of the viewers' votes for songs being ignored, and Jane Danson and Tupele Dorgu being put up for eviction in the first episode when the bottom two contestants by votes were actually Verity Rushworth and Leon Lopez.[3]
As a result, Granada Television, who produced the programme, was fined £1.2 million byOfcom. ITV aired an Ofcom summary of findings announcement just before the final of the second series ofBritain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008. It was shown again on 8 June 2008 before that night's episode ofCoronation Street.
Despite drawing in impressive viewing figures, ITV felt that the show had reached its "natural conclusion", and thus announced on 25 May 2007 that the programme had been axed. Amongst its reasons for the decision was the belief that the programme had become too similar to the broadcaster's other hit show,The X Factor.[4]
The Polish edition ofSoapstar Superstar,Jak Oni Śpiewają (How They Sing) aired from 3 March until 2 June 2007. It was won byAgnieszka Włodarczyk (Weronika Potoczny from "Plebania"). The second season ran from 8 September until 15 December 2007. The winner wasJoanna Liszowska (Dorota Lewkiewicz from "Na dobre i na złe"). The third season aired from 8 March until 31 May 2008. It was won by Krzysztof Respondek (Michał Jeleń from "Barwy Szczęścia"). The fourth season ran from 6 September until 6 December 2008. The winner was Artur Chamski. The 5th season won Laura Samojłowicz. The 6th season was won by Krzysztof Respondek again (it was All Star Season). The relaunch, broadcast on public channelTVP2, was announced on 12 February 2020 and is renamed toStar Voice. Gwiazdy mają głos (Star Voice - Stars have voice). Hosted by Michalina Sosna andMariusz Czerkawski, it would start broadcasting on 28 February 2020.
InBelgium, the third season ofSteracteur Sterartiest is currently airing onéén, all editions were hosted by Katja Retsin and Thomas Vanderveken.