''Soapstars'' is a British

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show that aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 3 September 2001 to 7 November 2001. The series featured thousands of contestants auditioning to be cast as part of a new family—consisting of a mother, father and three teenage children—in the ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

''. The judging panel consisted of drama producer Yvon Grace, casting director Paul de Freitas, and ''Emmerdale'' scriptwriter Bill Lyons. Auditions for ''Soapstars'' began on 8 June 2001 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. British actor's trade union Equity released a statement critical of the series, stating it was "an insulting affront to the men and women in our profession who endure low rates of pay, rejection and humiliation in the course of their work, despite their training, experience, dedication and talent." The winners of ''Soapstars'' were Dee Whitehead (for the role of Maggie Calder), Mark Jardine (for the role of

Phil Weston William Philip Christopher Weston (born 16 June 1973 in Durham), known as Phil Weston, is an English former cricketer. He was a left-handed opening batsman whose brother, Robin was the youngest player for Durham in the club's history. His fathe ...

), Elspeth Brodie (for the role of Lucy Calder), Jason Hain (for the role of Craig Calder) and Ruth Abram (for the role of Jess Weston). They initially won three month contracts to appear as the Calder family in ''Emmerdale'', beginning in November 2001. Their contracts were later extended, but by August 2002, all the winners had left the show. The show was inspired by the earlier reality show

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

References

External links

* 2000s British reality television series 2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings Emmerdale ITV reality television shows London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios {{UK-reality-tv-prog-stub