Soapstar Superstar
Soapstar Superstar is a British talent show that aired on ITV from January 6, 2006 to January 13, 2007. Soap opera actors perform in front of a celebrity judging panel, and the acts with the fewest votes are eliminated. A unique twist lets the audience choose the song for the next round, and the eliminated contestant can join the judges to save someone and decide the next song.
The first series was hosted by Fern Britton and Ben Shephard, with a companion ITV2 show called Soapstar Superstar: Extra Tracks hosted by Jayne Middlemiss and Duncan James. The second series was hosted by Zoe Ball, with the companion show retitled Soapstar Superstar: Bonus Tracks hosted by Mark Durden-Smith, Sheree Murphy and Rob Deering. The judging panel included Billy Sammeth and Chris Cowey for both series, with Cilla Black joining in 2006 and Martine McCutcheon and Michael Ball joining in 2007.
In October 2007, a Deloitte investigation found manipulation of phone-in votes on ITV shows, including Soapstar Superstar. Ofcom fined Granada Television £1.2 million. ITV later said the show had run its natural course and decided to axe it in 2007, feeling it had become too similar to The X Factor.
The format also spawned international versions, notably in Poland (Jak oni śpiewają) with several seasons and different winners. A relaunch was announced in 2020 on Polish TV as Star Voice. Belgium also had its own edition, Steracteur Sterartiest.
The series was produced by Granada at Granada Studios for ITV, with episodes lasting 60 to 90 minutes, across two series and 18 episodes in total.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:39 (CET).