Stars In Their Eyes (ITV, Saturday, 7pm)
Yes, it’s time for the hugely anticipated return of the singing talent show. Which ITV is cheekily showing at the same time as the return of another singing talent show over on BBC1. Could it be that Harry Hill’s hilarious, giddy reinvention of this old Stars In Their Eyes format pricks the much-hyped, glitzy bubble of the latest series of The Voice UK and actually beats it in the ratings? Probably not, but I know which one I’m more excited about, and it isn’t the one with the spinning chairs. The fact is, this show is a perfect vehicle for Harry’s unique comedy skills and quirky way with shiny-floor entertainment. Look out for his sly little subversive tweaks to the format, and the first show features a dog groomer from Stroud, a barmaid and electrician from Morden in London, a nurse from Slough, a labourer from Stoke and a Bread Demand Planner from Cardiff (a what?). Quite which pop stars they will be impersonating we won’t spoil, but the whole thing is going rock your world, I promise.
The Voice UK (BBC1, Saturday, 7pm)
So while Harry Hill is getting members of the public to have a right old laugh while crooning on ITV, it’s all about singers with authentic talent on BBC1. Of course it’s actually all about those spinning chairs in this opening stage of the competition, and once they disappear it becomes like every other singing-based talent search really. Nevertheless, the line-up has been refreshed this year as Rita Ora joins the gang of coaches, and apparently gets so excited about the chair-spinning that she falls off at one point. Let’s hope Sir Tom Jones stays still while he name-drops every legendary singer he’s brushed past in corridors throughout his career. I’ll keep an open mind about the BBC’s fourth attempt to make this format work. It always feels like it has potential to create actual stars, but has signally failed to do so as yet.
The Hotel (Channel 4, Sunday, 8pm)
Getting Mark Jenkins, the star of previous series of this documentary series about running a hotel, to join the staff as Torquay’s struggling Cavendish Hotel has been a masterstroke as we watch his colleagues trying to deal with his unique enthusiasm unfailingly positive outlook. This week, for example, he gets all excited about the prospect of a coachload of visitors coming down from Scotland, so of course arranges a Celtic-themed night to entertain them. Complete with deep fried Mars bars. Yes, that’ll work.
And don’t forget… Let’s not let Celebrity Big Brother (Channel 5, Saturday & Sunday, 9pm) and its extraordinary line-up be forgotten at the weekend. While egomaniacs Perez Hilton and Katie Hopkins are barely watchable, at least there’s the likes of Cheggers, Ken Morley and Patsy Kensit to keep it amusing. And the great Emma Wilis is keeping busy, what with this and The Voice.