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BBC in embarrassing U-turn as Saturday night primetime show axed

Apparently the BBC are all out of ideas...

Fans of the brilliant reality talent search show Let It Shine must be so excited about the new series that will be headed our way next spring.

Yes, we bet you can’t wait to check out all those fresh faced bright eyed hopefuls with dreams of west end stardom.

Only you are actually going to have to wait a rather long time.

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Why? Because the BBC has pulled the plug on the show because they don’t know what to do next.

The premise of the first series, which kicked off with 6.8 million viewers and dropped to over 4m, was to find a band of five boys to appear in the official Take That musical, which they did.

Only, there was one snag; the final five weren’t to be the main stars of the show, just in the chorus. But hey – it’s a foot in the door.

But now the BBC source says the company are not planning a second series just yet because it has struggled to come up with a fresh idea.

A source told the Sun: “The show was a huge success in many ways but the concept for a second series just wasn’t quite there yet.

“The first series was a project that had been worked on for years before coming to fruition.”

They added: “Gary in particular wants to make sure that if it does come back, proper time, effort and ideas have gone into it.

“There’s a danger of undoing the good work done this year by rushing into another series. No one wanted that so they’ve decided to leave it for now.”

Gary Barlow has said that he had a blast making the show and is looking forward to the opening of the musical but says he wants to take time before series two of Let It Shine is commissioned.

“We had a fantastic time making Let It Shine and the response has been absolutely amazing,” Gary Barlow told Mirror Online.

“The musical itself has broken records for the fastest selling theatre tour in UK history, which is incredible!

“I want to make sure we give any future series the focus and excitement Let It Shine series 1 had, and I look forward to making plans for the future with the BBC team.”

The BBC confirmed that Let It Shine will return at some point.

“At its heart the show was about finding and nurturing new talent and giving five individuals the unique prize of roles in a brand new, year-long, touring theatre production and as such the door is open to the possibility of another series of Let It Shine in the future,” a spokeswoman said.

“We would like to thank the cast and crew, all of whom brought professionalism, passion, joy and energy to the show.”

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One of the show’s judges, Martin Kemp has revealed that there is a Spandau Ballet musical in the works but admits it’s unlikely to get the talent-search treatment.

“We are in very early stage discussions about a Spandau Ballet musical, but I think it’s unlikely Let It Shine would be part of that.”

Aww.. shame.


Christian Guiltenane
Freelance Writer

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