Can lightning strike twice? Can Harry Hill work his surreal TV Burp magic on this revival of the creaky old Stars In Their Eyes formula. It’s a programme that is almost beyond parody, but ripe for a send-up. Everyone seems to have had a go, from Vic & Bob two decades ago to Backchat only last week when they dusted off the old "Tonight Matthew..." line. So how did Hill’s version fare?
After a sporting Matthew Kelly got the boot before the opening credits Hill wasted no time setting out his stall, coming on as Pharrell. Well, part-Pharrell, part-Diddy Man. It was quickly apparent that there was a big TV Burp influence here, with the sideways glances to camera, the jokes about Louis Walsh being ancient, Brian Belo popping up in a ball pond and the big-collared host mocking his own show: “Winning is not going to change your life, but it’s not going to ruin it either.”
First up was Anne, who we learnt used to live in Texas but now lived in the rather less sexy Stroud. Anne was a dog groomer so Hill tried a bit of grooming too, on his Alsatian Alan. Anne, after mixing Harry and Matthew up, was Kylie Minogue, although having been tarted up she actually looked more like Madonna. The audience seemed to love it, and Harry’s Alsatian Alan seemed to like it too.
Next up were hubby and wife Hayley and Gerry as the Everly Brothers and then nurse Olivia as Rhianna. Labourer Blake was a pretty good Eminem and Christie was Christina Aguilera, but it soon became apparent that the guests were almost incidental. If you want to see pop wannabes you can watch The Voice on the other side. It was really the Harry Hill Show and the best bits were his routines between the acts, mostly in a tiny fake living room at the side of the stage.
There were plenty of surprises. It was a genuine shock to see Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning absurdist John Kearns as a passing dustman. It was less of a surprise but certainly good fun to see Hill explain that you weren’t watching a rerun on Challenge TV, ITV really had brought SITE back.
The best bit was Angry Adele (not the real one) accosting Harry, who then produced a baby from a cupboard, which was promptly followed by a cream bun and bread-based fight – John Kearns again. Hill was at his best in the sketches. He may not be related to Benny Hill but he has a similar fondness for stupid visual gags. His interviews were a little more awkward. He looked as if he could not decide if he was probing the guest or performing to the cameras, but I’m sure that's something that will settle down after a while.
The results of the show? Who really cares? This is an interesting hybrid though, if not quite as subversive as I’d hoped. It’s no TV Burp, but not a straight mainstream show either. It will probably get thumped in the ratings by The Voice, but it is worth remembering that TV Burp started off with small audiences too. Primetime Saturday night is a pretty important slot but let’s hope ITV1 sticks with it. Oh, Christina Aguilera won, but my favourite was definitely Hill as Pharrell.
Saturdays, 7pm, ITV1.
