{{Infobox television|
| show_name = Fame Academy image = caption = format = Reality / talent show
| runtime - 60-120 mins creator = presenter = Cat Deeley (2003 - 2005)
Patrick Kielty (2003 - present
Claudia Winkleman (2003 - 2005 on BBC Three
and 2007 - present on main show)
| channel = BBC One, BBC Three country= first_aired = October 2002 last_aired =
| October 2003 num_episodes = num_series = 2 plus a further 3 Comic Relief does
| Fame Academy producer = Endemol,
BBC website =
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/fameacademy }} 'Fame Academy' was a televised competition to search for and educate new musical
talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The
prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus
the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one year. It was
broadcast by the BBC and co-produced by an Endemol company called 'Initial'. The
format was originally created in Spain under the title Operación Triunfo, and
had already achieved major success around the world (especially France) under
the name Star Academy. Every week, depending on the perceived quality of their
performances, contestants would be put into either "safe" or "danger" zones.
Anyone in the latter had to undergo a system of voting by the other participants
to determine which one would then be forced to leave. The show was partly reality television, because the daily lives of the
contestants could be watched through live streaming via Freeview. This was
accomplished through the instalments of 'spycameras'. Coverage of the show was
widely shown on BBC One, BBC Three, BBC Prime and the CBBC Channel. The show was so successful that the BBC decided to screen a celebrity version in
2003 for Comic Relief. Comic Relief does Fame Academy saw celebrities singing as
students of the Academy with proceeds from the phone votes being donated to the
charity. This was far more successful than the original show, and many believe
its success secured the second series of the main programme. The Comic Relief series returned in March 2007. It was announced by the BBC that
Cat Deeley would not return because she was hosting American Idol. Patrick
Kielty returned this time with co-host and host of the former spin-off show
Claudia Winkleman.
|