Rival X Flops won’t shine on my show Gary bans talent has-beens from boyband TV musical hunt
GARY Barlow is refusing to let flop acts from rival shows audition for his new BBC1 talent contest.
Despite being an X Factor judge for three series, the Take That singer does not want to see any familiar faces on Let It Shine.
Gary, 45, said: “There’s a lot of shows on TV asking for talent, so you’re hoping they’re not going to have done Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and The Voice.
Fresh
“You don’t want baggage of any kind. Preconceived reactions towards people are a bad thing. We’re looking for young, fresh talent.”
The aim of Let It Shine is to put together a boyband for a new musical based on Take That’s songs.
Gary said: “There’s about three rounds they have to go through before I see them.
“By that point the people casting for this will have weeded them out.
“The stakes are high for me, so it’s an enormous relief that we have found talent.”
Let It Shine is in a ratings war with The Voice, which switched to ITV for its current series after launching on the Beeb in 2012.
Gary’s show lost more than half a million viewers on the second episode last Saturday, dropping from 6.3million to 5.7million. The Voice moved ahead last week and pulled in 6.3million, including ITV+1 viewers.
But Gary is happy with the numbers. He said: “Everyone is comparing us but we’re a new show. The Voice is a worldwide brand.
Thrilled
“I’m absolutely thrilled we’re up there alongside. I get a call on Sunday night about all that but the success of this show will be when the curtain goes up on the musical.”
Record companies are approaching Gary about turning the winning band into the new One Direction.
He said: “We’ll bring every opportunity to the guys who win this.”
As well as the boyband, runners-up will also be involved in the musical.
Gary said: “There will be 10 jobs at the end of this process. We’ll have a band but will need understudies.”