The Herald - The Herald Magazine
WEEKEND TV CHOICE
SATURDAY
Starstruck: The Final (STV, 8.30pm) From Billie Eilish to Freddie Mercury, over the past few weeks we’ve seen some remarkable transformations as members of the public took to the stage to perform as their pop idols.
For most of the contestants, it was a one-night-only deal, but tonight it’s the final, which gives the best impersonators from the heats a chance to come back and battle it out for the £50,000 prize.
While they previously had to take to the stage with two other singers, now they’ll be going it alone. Panellists Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford are on hand to offer their support, while the voting audience will decide the winner.
At least one of the judges will be glad that she doesn’t have to decide who will be going away with the cash – in Sheridan’s eyes, they’re all winners. The actress laughs: “I think I am the easily pleased judge if I’m honest. I take my hat off to all of them, I’m nervous just sitting in the chair and the stage is epic. These are people who are a mechanic by day and Elton John by night, to me it’s mind blowing that they can do that, so I’m in awe of them. Their families must be so proud, I’m just on my feet, I’m almost like a proud mum. I am so behind them all and I want them to do well.”
It’s impressive that Sheridan has found time to judge the show at all. As one of Britain’s most popular and acclaimed actresses, she’s always in high demand, and has already starred in three high-profile dramas (The Teacher, Four Lives and No Return) this year alone.
Host Olly Murs introduces tonight’s finalists – and those who have made the cut include the aforementioned Mercury and Eilish along with Barbra Streisand and Cher. But who will prove to be the biggest superstar on the night?
SUNDAY
Peaky Blinders (BBC1, 9pm)
It’s the moment fans of the Birmingham-set gangster drama have been both looking forward to and dreading.
Steven Knight’s much-loved show will reach an emotional conclusion
tonight after six seasons, but as a pay off, we will get to see if there really is “one last deal to be done” before the Peaky Blinders rest.
Peaky Blinders premiered in September 2013, and after becoming a ratings hit, it has spawned everything from themed pubs and fashion lines to food stalls and festivals.
Celebrity Peaky fans include David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Idris
Elba, Tom Cruise and David Bowie, with the late singer once asking Knight to include his music in the show. However, long before it became a cultural phenomenon, writer and creator Knight was clear in his mind what he was doing with the show.
“What I’ve wanted from the beginning is to start off with a character who seems irredeemable,” he says.
“One who is switched off completely; whose humanity has been torn out of him by his experiences in the war. And then slowly bring him back to life, to turn him back into a human being over the however many hours that we’ve done. And I think at the end of six, for all the bad things that he’s done, Tommy [Cillian Murphy] is a human being.”
Millions of families around the country will be gripped this evening as the final-ever episode airs on BBC One.
Although specific details are being kept under wraps, we do know that Tommy will have to face the consequences of his experiences and actions over the years.
As the clouds of the coming storm gather, what will be become of the leader of the Shelbys in a world on the inevitable road to war?
Despite Peaky Blinders’ ongoing success, Knight is convinced the time is right for it to end – as a TV show, anyway.
“The way these things are scheduled – it’s like turning an oil tanker around,” he says.
“We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I’m calling ‘the end of the beginning.’ Let’s end the beginning, then let’s do the film. And then let’s see where we go in terms of spin offs.”