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Annie Roberts

ITV Starstruck: Start date, judges and host of new Stars in Their Eyes-style TV talent show

ITV is launching a brand new entertainment show on our TV screens this weekend.

The Saturday night programme - which will run for six weeks - will see members of the public transformed into their beloved music star for one night only.

The new ITV show has been compared to 90s and 00s talent show Stars In Their Eyes, which saw members of the public take to the stage in a puff of smoke to mimic their favourite artists, but Starstruck will have a slight twist.

Read more: ITV No Return: Sheridan Smith's horror car crash and romance with Gavin and Stacey co-star

The contestants won't be on the stage alone. There will be three performers on stage all dressed as and singing songs from the same music artist.

Here's everything you need to know about when the show will start, who will be on the judging panel and what celebs the public will be impersonating:

When does Starstruck start on ITV?

Starstruck starts on Saturday, February 12 at 8.30pm on ITV and ITV Hub and will run for six weeks in total.

The first 70-minute episode will see four teams of three performers take to the stage.

One group will be performing as Ariana Grande, another as Lady Gaga, a third will be taking on Motown as Marvin Gaye and three performers will be channelling their inner rock star as they all take to the stage as Freddie Mercury.

Olly Murs and Team Freddie: Rob, Michael and Joe (ITV)

The series will continue weekly on Saturday nights on ITV with groups performing as Elton John, Billie Eilish, Tina Turner, Rag'n'Bone Man, Gary Barlow and many more music artists.

How will the new format work and is it like Stars In Their Eyes?

In each show, four teams of three members will take to the stage to perform a hit song from their music idol, with each person in the team singing a section of the song.

There are similarities to the classic talent show Stars in Their Eyes - which first aired in 1990 before the final episode aired in 2006 - but with Starstruck, contestants will be competing in groups, with all three of them dressed in different looks from their chosen music artist.

They will have to impress the Starstruck judges to then be picked as the strongest team. The strongest team will then compete against each other and the audience will get the final vote on who their favourite solo-singer is.

They will then go through to the live final at the end of the series to compete for the cash prize of £50,000.

Meet the ITV Starstruck judges

There are four judges that will be taking to the panel to pick their favourite group each Saturday. They've also revealed which music hero they would choose to transform into, if they had the chance. Here's all the details:

Starstruck: Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Olly Murs, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford (ITV)
  • Adam Lambert - Queen frontman and singing sensation

"I’ve been told that in some light, I resemble Elvis," Adam said: "I always take it as a great compliment. I would give that a go. I think I could probably pull that off. I can see myself wearing one of those jumpsuits with all the rhinestones all over it. That’s a vibe."

  • Sheridan Smith - Actress and musical theatre star

Sheridan revealed she would choose to transform into Dolly Parton "without a shadow of a doubt" saying: "I am obsessed with her. My mum and dad were a country and western duo so I grew up with country music. A pair of fake boobs and a big blonde wig. I’d have to practice the voice but she is my idol so that’s who I would want to be."

Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford (ITV)
  • Jason Manford - Comedian, actor and musical theatre performer

"With a bit of rehearsal I would probably do Neil Diamond," Jason revealed: "I reckon I could do a good Neil Diamond. I can do parodies of the Gallagher brothers and Gary Barlow - any Northern singer."

  • Beverley Knight - Recording artist and musical theatre star

Beverley said her music icon would be Prince, she said: "All day long! I would lose some of this hair or braid it all down and put a wig on. I would love to transform into Prince. I want to know what it feels like for that minute and a half that the contestants are up there. I’ve been a Prince fan since I was tiny, I’ve got so much memorabilia, music, t-shirts, my key ring is the Love Symbol. I’m obsessed."

Who will be hosting ITV's Starstruck?

Former X Factor contestant, singer and The Voice coach Olly Murs will be taking to the stage to host this new talent show from ITV.

Olly Murs (ITV)

The 37-year-old singer has also revealed who he would choose to perform as if he was on Starstruck: " Tom Jones. I’ve been working with him for the last few years and I feel like I know him well enough to be him. I might need a bit more work on the Welsh accent!"

Speaking about how it feels to host the new talent show, Olly said: " It feels amazing - I'm absolutely loving it. I always wanted to do something new and find something that matches my personality, something where I can be me and cheeky.

"I think that’s where Starstruck ticks all of the boxes. It was a match made in heaven in terms of what I wanted to do. It’s just a fun show to be a part of and everyone on it is great to work with."

Starstruck starts Saturday, February 12 at 8.30pm on ITV and ITV Hub.

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