Soapstars

Soapstars is a British reality television show that aired on ITV from 3 September 2001 to 7 November 2001.[1][2] The series featured thousands of contestants auditioning to be cast as part of a new family—consisting of a mother, father and three teenage children—in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.[2][3] The judging panel consisted of drama producer Yvon Grace, casting director Paul de Freitas, and Emmerdale scriptwriter Bill Lyons.[4]

Soapstars
GenreReality television
Presented byCarol Vorderman
JudgesYvon Grace
Paul de Freitas
Bill Lyons
Narrated byDaniel Hill
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
Running time30–60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyLWT
Release
Original networkITV
Original release3 September (2001-09-03) –
7 November 2001 (2001-11-07)
Related
I Wanna Be a Soap Star

Auditions for Soapstars began on 8 June 2001 in Sheffield.[5] British actor's trade union Equity released a statement critical of the series, stating it was "an insulting affront to the men and women in our profession who endure low rates of pay, rejection and humiliation in the course of their work, despite their training, experience, dedication and talent."[1]

The winners of Soapstars were Dee Whitehead (for the role of Maggie Calder), Mark Jardine (for the role of Phil Weston), Elspeth Brodie (for the role of Lucy Calder), Jason Hain (for the role of Craig Calder) and Ruth Abram (for the role of Jess Weston). They initially won three month contracts to appear as the Calder family in Emmerdale, beginning in November 2001.[4][6] Their contracts were later extended, but by August 2002, all the winners had left the show.[7]

The show was inspired by the earlier reality show Popstars.

References
  1. "Equity anger at Soapstars". BBC News. 5 September 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  2. "Emmerdale strike over Soapstars denied". BBC News. 1 October 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  3. Hodgson, Jessica (20 August 2001). "ITV pins ratings hopes on Soapstars". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  4. "Emmerdale's Soapstars to stay". BBC News. 8 November 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  5. Wilkes, Neil (8 June 2001). "Soapstars gets underway". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  6. "Emmerdale's Soapstar family dumped". CBBC. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  7. "Emmerdale's Soapstars axed". BBC News. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.