Episode 4 Let It Shine

# Come on, come on, come on, come on Take that and party. #

GRAHAM: It's week four of Let It Shine.

How did I get here? 25 years to this.

-MEL:

-Well, Gary, you did say you wanted to find singers, dancers,

and boys, oozing that boyband magic, to be in a stage show, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Anyway, onwards.

Tonight, our remaining auditionees are ready to put on a show...

You are freaking incredible.

As they do their best to show their potential...

Oh.

..and charm their way into our judges' hearts.

That is the man we are looking for.

It's the last chance to reach that all-important score...

..of 15 stars or more.

I'm worried for you.

So, all bets are off...

-It's weird.

-It's uncanny.

By the end of tonight, we will reveal who's through to perform

with five huge names in next week's collaboration extravaganza.

Could it be magic?

Yes.

I don't know what the question was, but, yes.

Hello, and welcome to the last of the Let It Shine auditions.

Hang on, I cannot bear the thought of life

without seeing Martin Kemp on a weekly basis, Graham.

-Don't worry, Kempo's going nowhere.

-Oh, thank goodness.

Somewhere in this room could be

the five guys who are going to win this show

and that role of a boyband in a nationwide touring musical,

where they'll get to perform the songs of some little band called...

Oh, what is it? Take That, or something?

Our auditionees need to be able to convince a musical theatre audience

that they're a member of a proper boyband.

The prize is a real job, so these guys need to be incredible.

Their job in this musical is enormous.

It's not just one night a week.

This is eight shows a week. It's big.

We've got one day left and we've already put amazing people through.

So, Gary, what is it you want?

I want to be entertained.

Entertain me.

We don't ask for much(!)

MUSIC: Lose Yourself by Eminem

So, the studio's set, the Manchester audience are in

and Gary B and Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp are taking their seats.

It seems like today, it's time to get serious.

MUSIC: Bang Bang # Batman Robin it

# Bang, bang, cocking it Queen Nicki dominant, prominent

# It's me, Jessie, and Ari If they test me, they sorry. #

# A to the N to the G to the

-# Uh

-Baby

# B to the A to the N to the G, to the hey

# See anybody could be good to you

# You need a bad girl to blow your mind... #

So, as Dannii and Glee star Amber Riley make their way

to the studio, backstage, the boys are limbering up.

Meet 17-year-old Callum Howells.

He's our small-town boy,

who's already got a big passion for performing on the stage.

Obviously, they're looking for the vocals. We know that.

But it's also about how you... How you move, how you do those...

-Exactly, yeah.

-Is that a move?

-I didn't really know. It's something from the '70s, probably.

-Yeah.

We call it, in Wales, the Rhondda two-step.

The Rhondda two-step! That one.

Yeah, that's it.

Are you going to bring breaking out your Rhondda two-step?

Oh, definitely, absolutely.

Just like, give a bit of a swivel.

APPLAUSE

Hi, how are you?

-I'm really good, thank you. How are you?

-I'm good. What's your name?

My name is Callum Howells. I'm 17 years old

and I'm from South Wales.

APPLAUSE

So, tell me a little bit about yourself.

I go to a school called Treorchy Comprehensive School

and I'm head boy.

APPLAUSE

OK. American. What does that mean?

So, it's like,

there's a country next to England...

LAUGHTER

..and that's where I'm from.

No, no, what does head boy mean?

LAUGHTER

I... I...

-Sorry.

-That was great, though.

What does head boy mean?

-So, you know how there's, like, a headteacher?

-Uh-huh.

Amongst, like, the students, there's a head boy.

So, that's, like, me, basically.

OK, OK, cool.

So, what you have to do to be the head boy?

I had to just write a letter,

basically outlining why I think I should be head boy,

and I said, "Please can I be head boy?"

And my teacher said, "Yeah, you can be head boy."

LAUGHTER

All right! Sounds easy enough!

APPLAUSE

All right, well, I'm excited to hear you sing.

So, let's give it a go.

-Good luck.

-Thank you so much.

# You say

# The price of my love's not a price that you're willing to pay

# You cry

# In your tea, that you hurl in the sea when you see me go by

# Why so sad?

# Remember we made an arrangement when you went away

# Now you're making me mad

# Remember despite our estrangement

# I'm your man

# You'll be back

# Soon you'll see

# You'll remember you belong to me... #

-AUDIENCE CLAPS IN TIME

-# You'll be back

# Time will tell

# You'll remember that I served you well

# Oceans rise

# Empires fall

# We have seen each other through it all

# And when push

# Comes to shove

# I will send a fully-armed battalion

# To remind you of my love

# Da da da dat da

# Dat da da da

# Da ya da

# Da da dat dat

# Da ya da

# Da da da dat da

# Dat da da da

# Da ya da

# Da da dat dat

# Da ya da

# Da da da dat da

# Dat da da da

# Da ya da

# Da da dat dat

# Da ya da. #

APPLAUSE

Good job, good job!

Judges, will you enter your scores, please?

Now, an unusual song choice. So we'll go to the judges.

Gary, are you familiar with that musical?

-That was Hamilton, yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Have you seen it?

I haven't seen it, cos it hasn't come across yet,

but I've just been watching videos online.

Oh.

Callum, well done. Very, very confident audition.

I've got to be honest,

it's just leaning towards the side of musical theatre,

-where I don't want our show to be.

-Yeah.

But I think you have the potential to change that.

I want you to move your voice

-from being a musical voice into a pop voice.

-Yeah.

But you have a great technique, you've got very good pitch,

good ears, and I think you'll be able to do that.

APPLAUSE

Cos, Martin, at 17, presumably his voice can go anywhere?

It can go anywhere, absolutely.

For me, it didn't touch me here.

It didn't get me in the heart.

I just didn't think there was enough of your own personality in the song.

But, listen, you look great, you're a fabulous kid,

and I'm sure you've got a long way to go, whatever you do.

APPLAUSE

Nice comments.

I don't know how that's going to translate into stars.

The judges don't know the total number of stars.

We don't know. You don't know. We're about to find out.

The magic number is 15.

Let's find out how Callum has been scored.

Come on! Here we go!

CHEERING

Well done!

Well done! I'm so happy for you.

Amber Riley, she liked it! Five out of five.

I did. I needed you to go through.

Even though it was very musical theatre,

I think you have the acting ability and the dramatic ability,

so I know that you can transform, so I needed you to go through.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Dannii, a high mark from you.

I mean, extraordinary poise for a 17-year-old.

I gave you four, because the voice is incredible.

What I would want to see you do,

you've got to be a believable boyband member within this show.

Yeah.

Just a little thing, Callum, just to take away with you,

is it might just be worth, as an exercise,

just go and sing some music you wouldn't normally have sung.

Go and sing some rock music. Go and sing some pop.

-I think it could really help you.

-Yeah.

APPLAUSE

I absolutely understand what you're saying, 100%.

Thank you so much.

Callum, I'm so pleased you're through. We'll see you again.

It's Callum, everybody!

Good job, buddy. Good job. Well done.

At this moment, for me,

-it didn't work.

-Yeah.

All he needs to do is get around the other guys

and pick up some bad habits.

-That's it.

-Yeah, probably!

-That's it.

-MEL:

-'So, Callum's through.

Still, would have liked to have seen that Rhondda two-step, though.

Don't worry, Mel.

Later tonight, we'll see all the successful auditionees

put through their dancing paces.

After all, we all know there's more to boybands than vocals alone.

Just ask our next auditionee.

MUSIC: Sing by Ed Sheeran

It's 18-year-old Scott Macaulay.

He's brought his guitar along, and he's not afraid to use it.

Well, maybe he's a bit afraid.

It's nerve-wrecking out there, guys.

APPLAUSE

Hey, there.

What's your name?

I'm Scott Macaulay. I'm from Belfast in Northern Ireland.

APPLAUSE

So, have you performed much?

70 gigs this year.

-70?

-Yeah, 70, yeah.

So, you're away on the road, right?

I just finished the boats, you know, the ferries,

from Belfast to Scotland and Liverpool.

That was a really cool experience.

We were, like, playing, and you were like, woo...

You know, all over the place.

LAUGHTER

I know that ferry. It's really choppy, isn't it?

Yeah, the first time, I went

and I was seasick and I had to run to the toilet.

LAUGHTER

Have you got any family here with you?

Yeah, I've got my mum, my dad and my girlfriend.

Hang on. Hang on.

A green apple.

That stops you from being seasick.

LAUGHTER

-I haven't heard that before.

-Did you know that?

-No, neither have I.

Oh, yeah. It is. It's a green apple.

Anyway, onwards.

LAUGHTER

All right. You ready for this, today?

Yeah, I'm really ready, I'm really excited.

After 70 gigs, I hope you are.

-Well, good luck.

-Cheers.

# Laura

# Won't you give me some time?

# I've got to give myself

# One more chance

# To ring the band that I know I'm in

# To ring the band I know that I'm in

# Won't you just tell baby daddy

-# I'm gonna need his love... #

-AUDIENCE CLAPS IN TIME

# Why don't he give me he love?

# Why don't he give me

# Shamone

# Shamone

# Where is your love?

# Why don't you give me your love

# Why don't you give me your

# Shamone

# Shamone

# Where is your love?

# Why don't you give me your love?

# Why don't you

# This'll be the last time

# I ever do your hair

# Oh, oh

# Oh

# One face among the many

# I never thought you cared

# This'll be the last time

# I'll ever do your hair

# One face among the many

# I never thought that you cared

# Oh, no

# Whoa. #

APPLAUSE

Scott, everybody!

Wow.

Congratulations. Well done.

After a car ferry, this is quite nice.

Yeah, it's pretty good!

Dannii?

OK, the strange thing is, you seem like the coolest,

most accomplished solo singer-songwriter.

And I'm like, what is you want to do,

coming to audition here

and to be in the show as part of a group?

Like...

Seriously, you're really good.

I'm just working out how to fit you into this.

Well, I mean, I've always loved to be in a band, you know,

I really would love to do that.

APPLAUSE

Martin, do you agree with Dannii?

I absolutely agree with Dannii.

It was my first thought, that you're such a solo man.

It just does worry me, you know.

When you usually have five boys in the band,

there's always one that wants to go solo.

LAUGHTER

So...

Listen, listen, I have it in my band, as well, don't worry about it.

LAUGHTER

For people at home, though, are you sort of saying

he's too good to be in the band? Is that...?

No, he's...

Personality's good. He stands there like a solo singer.

He doesn't stand there and hit me in the face like a member of a band.

-LAUGHING:

-I'm really confused by both of those comments.

Because if somebody shines onstage like a star,

you would WANT them to be a part of your production, wouldn't you?

I'm not saying I wouldn't want them to.

It's whether or not they would want to.

Well, he does. He's here!

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

OK. So here's the moment of truth.

The judges scored you right after you performed, OK?

But right now, nobody, including the judges,

know the total number of stars you've got. All right?

Five from each judge, maximum 20,

-you've got to get 15 if you're going through to the next stage.

-OK.

-Best of luck to you.

-Cheers.

Let's find out how Scott has been scored.

CHEERING

Yes!

Oh!

19! You got 19!

Wow!

-Oh, my God!

-I know!

Five out of five from Amber Riley? Very nice.

Yeah, I thought that you were incredible.

And I'm glad that I gave you five.

-They made me really nervous.

-Me, too.

I needed you to get through.

LAUGHTER

Me, too.

Thank you so much, again. Like, I can't believe it.

Thank you so, so much.

-DANNII:

-It's like...

APPLAUSE

You're so good at what you do, you don't know it.

And you could do it on your own.

But boy, if you're in this group,

the boys have got a lot to live up to.

-Well, whatever happens... SCOTT:

-Thank you.

Whatever happens, I think from now on,

you'll be a stranger to the smell of vomit on a car ferry.

LAUGHTER

Huge congratulations to Scott, everybody!

Thank you. Thank you.

-He was great, wasn't he?

-Great.

He made me close my eyes and I was swaying a little bit.

-In a good way, in a good way.

-In a good way. Very good way.

-Yeah, not like...

-SHE IMITATES SNORING

No, no, no.

19 stars!

APPLAUSE

So, do you know what Gary Barlow's favourite hobby is?

No idea.

Apart from being in Take That, obviously.

That's a big, long-standing hobby of his.

No, do you know what he loves to do?

He loves to turn up uninvited

and surprise somebody.

"Why?" I hear you ask.

To invite them to audition for this show.

-Did you know that?

-No.

-Were you interested?

HE LAUGHS

Look forward to our chat again soon.

Last week, the Barlow-mobile took the A5 to Anglesey.

I'm here for Dion?

THEY CHEER

Will you come and perform for us on the Let It Shine stage?

Yeah, definitely.

THEY CHEER

This week, two more unsuspecting victims

are due for a surprise visit from GB.

So where are we heading first?

SLOW VIOLIN MUSIC

Ah, the green and pleasant lands of Essex.

We're in the suburbs and it's just a normal day on a normal street...

..where we're crammed into an unmarked vehicle on a stakeout,

waiting for Luke Stanley to come home.

As I said, "normal".

Oh, hello, here he comes.

Budding musician Luke works nights

as a support technician for London Underground.

Luke has been singing for quite some time.

The neighbours hear him singing in the shower,

and they have a laugh and joke to me about.

He does sing quite often, down the tunnels.

# Give a little time to me

# Or burn this out

# We'll play hide and seek

# We turn this around

# All I want is the taste your lips allow... #

He just needs a bit of a push.

But he has the bare essentials of what we're looking for.

The main thing is, we've got to get him from his house onto that stage.

So while dad Ray deals with the washing,

we've hijacked their garden shed

and installed hidden cameras everywhere

to give Luke the surprise of his life in his own front room.

Ray's looking perfectly relaxed about the situation.

Right, here we go.

Now, hang on, do those two always coordinate outfits?

Hello, boys. Hello!

After a snack, and a very near miss for our cameras,

it's time to take the dogs for their walk.

Followed by our intrepid team, of course.

Here they come.

Ray, what are you doing?

You'd better get back. Gary's not far away.

Game on.

It was Ray's birthday yesterday, so back at the house,

friends and family are popping in to celebrate, including Luke's nan.

She's in on it, too.

It's unbelievable. Spy in the sky.

SHE LAUGHS

Little does Luke know,

a certain someone's about to join the shindig.

This is it. This is it.

This is amazing.

Nan's made herself comfy and she's requested a song.

# Pearly whites

# Just a jack-knife

# Has old MacHeath, babe... #

Oh, Gary's up! We are go for Gary.

# With his teeth, babe

# Da, da

# Scarlet billows

# Start to spread. #

Oh, my God.

Hello, Nan. Luke.

EXCITED SHOUTING

Hello, mate.

Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you. How are you doing?

-Yeah, good.

I don't know if you knew, but your little shed back there,

I've been sat listening to you sing.

LAUGHTER

That's embarrassing.

And you sound pretty good!

I'm looking for very talented people.

Will you please come and sing in front of our beautiful audience

and show us how good you are?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

CHEERING

Brilliant. Brilliant.

I need...or something.

I don't know what to say. I don't what to do.

I've gone white in the face. I'm sweating.

Can you pinch me, Nan? Just quickly.

LAUGHTER

Yeah, this is real. Yeah.

My dad believes in me. My nan believes in me.

Here, remember.

I'm your agent.

It's my job, now, to go out and prove to them that I can do it.

APPLAUSE, CHEERING

Now, this is Luke, everybody.

How are you?

Yeah, good, thanks.

-Great. Now, your dad must be here. Ray?

-Hi, Gary.

-How are you?

-Yeah, I'm fine, yeah.

So, what did you think when Gary turned up?

My mouth was dry, I was like,

"No, it's not Gary Barlow in our living room, surely."

LAUGHTER

So, I want to say best of luck.

Oh, yeah, just one more thing.

Martin, I spoke to my nan

and she really fancies you.

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

See, Gary, one day, this will happen to you, when people say,

"My nan fancies you."

LAUGHTER

-Well, Luke, good luck from us all.

-Cheers.

# What would I do without your smart mouth

# Drawing me in and you kicking me out?

# You've got my head spinning

# No kidding

# I can't pin you down

# What's going on in that beautiful mind?

# I'm on your magical mystery ride

# And I'm so dizzy

# Don't know what hit me

# But I'll be all right

# My head's under water

# But I'm breathing fine

# You're crazy

# And I'm out of my mind

# Cos all of me

# Loves all of you

# I love your curves and all your edges

# All your perfect imperfections

# Give your all to me

# I'll give my all to you

# You're my end and my beginning

# Even when I lose I'm winning

# Cos I give you a-a-all

# Of me

# And you give me a-a-all

of you

# O-oh. #

APPLAUSE

Let's hear it for Luke, everybody!

-Great song, Luke.

-Thank you.

-Seriously, well done.

Congratulations.

Judges, please put in your score.

Hearing you singing, there, you've got that voice,

-and you're doing the night shift on the Tube?

-I am, yeah.

Gary Barlow, what did you think?

So, Luke, you know, we knew there was going to be some nerves, today.

And there was a few notes here and there you missed.

But slowly, you peeled off the layers

and this butterfly emerged before us

and the end of the song was absolutely beautiful.

You've got a great tone.

Got ahead a few times, a little bit, on the track.

But again, I'm going to put that down to nerves.

You need to sort those nerves out very soon, but other than that,

I thought there's great, great potential here, so well done.

APPLAUSE

Amber?

It was a very contained performance,

I really wanted you to come out of your shell a little bit more.

And your nervousness, kind of, made me a little nervous,

so I'm just a little iffy about what are you going to do

when you get on a stage and it's thousands of people,

as opposed to the hundreds that are here right now?

All right. Let's find out how Luke has been scored!

CHEERING

15 it is, but that's all you need! You're through, you're through.

Oh, wow.

Congratulations.

Nan can still look Martin Kemp in the eye!

LAUGHTER

Dannii, four out of five for you. Great.

Yeah. I mean, you have such a natural ability,

it's now just learning the craft of being on stage

and being in the theatre. You'll be incredible.

And Martin, you're really encouraging.

Another four out of five?

Oh, absolutely. I really enjoyed the performance.

I... The thing you're lacking the most at the moment, for me,

is projection.

Your voice needs to go right to the back

and your emotion needs to go right to the back of the hall.

And once you conquer that, I think you've got a long way to go.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen,

he's going through to the next stage. It's Luke!

CHEERING

Well done. Congratulations.

He actually doesn't really need to think about his voice that much.

He needs to concentrate on the rest.

-He does, yes.

-I mean, he's quite an effortless singer.

-It's the performance...

-It's the rest, yeah.

-I love a man who wears a shoe with no socks.

-OK.

Have you put...? I do.

Have you put... Have you put talc in there, my love?

No, I haven't.

APPLAUSE

It's our last audition show, so tonight's our last chance

to revel in the joy of our guest judge, Amber Riley.

# I couldn't ask for another... #

We rehearsed that for weeks.

# I couldn't ask for another. #

Loved it!

Have you heard Amber's voice?

# No, no, there's no way... #

The most incredible thing you will ever hear.

Now, she might be up to speed on what head boy means...

I know if I say something wrong,

you guys probably will just think I'm just American.

..but other things did get lost in translation.

Everyone's always asking, "You all right?"

Which I've learnt is, "Hello,"

-instead of, "Are you really OK?"

-SHE LAUGHS

Oh, right!

Then I started saying, "Yeah, you know, my back kind of hurts."

And the person's just standing there like,

"Oh, she's really going to tell me how she's doing."

I got it now. I just say, "Hi!"

# Let's get physical

# Physical. #

Well, Amber, prepare to greet our next boy,

professional dancer and personal trainer, Travis.

He might be just what the judges are looking for.

-In this kind of space...

-Yeah?

What would you do with the gang?

You can, like, use the stick, and stretch your arms.

-Stretching.

-Yeah, yeah.

And you can do it, perhaps, get some lunges.

-So, like, lunge.

-Oh, I love a lunge!

-Yeah!

-I love...

-And other leg.

-That's good. That's harder, isn't it?

-That's a lot harder.

Harder to do in heels, as well, Travis.

-Surprising...

-I can't get up, actually can't.

Slightly... Might need a little...

-Oh, thanks.

-There you go.

-Thanks very much.

MUSIC: Let's Dance by David Bowie

When he was about three,

he started off in a baby ballet class and tap,

and just went from strength to strength,

he just loved it.

Travis is in the gym pretty much every day.

He likes to look top-notch all the time.

When we're getting ready to go out,

I'll be the one to be ready first.

Then, he takes about ten more hours.

People tell me how... such a lovely lad he is,

and it's just the best feeling.

He's kind of been, like, something to look up to.

Such a focused young man.

He's, like, inspiration.

APPLAUSE

Yes, I say yes!

LAUGHTER

What's your name?

My name's Travis, I'm 19 and I'm from Mansfield.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Inside a band, what would you bring to it?

I'd hopefully bring, like, fun, energy, like, a really good vibe.

-You'll bring the chicks, as well?

-Yeah!

Thank you.

# Your love pours down on me

# Surrounds me like a waterfall

# And there's no stopping us right now

# I feel so close to you right now

CHEERING

# I feel so close to you right now

# It's a force field

# I wear my heart upon my sleeve

# Like a big deal... #

Come on, guys, just jump!

Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump!

AUDIENCE CLAPS ALONG

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Travis, everybody!

Hiya!

-Eh, those were some moves, Travis!

-Thank you.

-Amber.

-Oh!

I wanted you to sound so great. I would have married you.

Oh!

No, the dancing was great.

You're great to look at, you have great energy, but I just,

vocally, it just wasn't there, and I really,

really wish that it was, but it wasn't.

-AUDIENCE:

-Whoa-a-a!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Aw!

-I'm sorry.

-It's OK.

-I'm sorry, Travis.

Just 11. Let's go to, Dannii. Just two?

-Very entertaining.

-Thank you.

Energetic. Everything you said it would be.

Vocally, missed the mark.

Amber, are you very sorry to be saying goodbye?

Yes, but I'll have this moment on television for the rest of my life.

LAUGHTER

Still to come tonight...

Graham and I count down the remaining contestants.

This is going to be tough.

-A big decision for the rest of their lives.

-Yup.

To get your hands on some backstage exclusives and find out how

the show's made, head to the website.

And whilst you're at it, why not follow us on social media?

You're not meant to see this! Cut!

27-year-old Alexis is a bit of a multitasker.

He'll sing for his supper and then give you a short back and sides.

From a very early age, he's been a performer.

Alexis has been in a few West End shows.

I think when he was in Dreamboats & Petticoats,

I saw the show 56 times.

He's always wanted to be a dad - always.

I mean, Zachary is a little cheeky munchkin.

And, Penny, just an absolute sweetheart.

They completely adore their dad.

I have a barbershop, so he works closely with me,

and it's actually served him very well, because, in the shows that

he's been in, he's often been appointed as company barber.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Oh!

-Well, hello!

-Hello!

-I think we're already off to a great start.

That's it? Shall I go now? Is that it? Is that me done?

-What's your name?

-Alexis Gerred, I'm 27 and I'm from Kent.

All right! All right. Alexis, what do you do for a living?

For the last six, seven years,

-I've been a professional actor in musicals in and around the West End.

-AUDIENCE OOHS

Amazing, so, do you feel extra pressure being here,

since you've been on the West End?

I think the experience is great and, yeah,

I think it comes with a certain amount of pressure, but everyone's

here just to showcase talent and I'm as nervous as the rest of them.

-Is your family here today?

-My mum and dad are here somewhere.

-Don't do that! Don't do that!

-Aw, there's Mom and Dad.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well, Alexis, are you ready?

-I think so.

-All right, well, we're ready for you. Let's go, good luck!

# Here come old flat top

# He come grooving up slowly

# He got joo-joo eyeball

# He one holy roller

# He got hair down

# To his knee

# Got to be a joker

# He just do what he please

Ahhh!

# He bag production

# He got walrus gumboot

# He got Ono sideboard

# He one spinal cracker

# He got feet down

# Below his knees

# Hold you in his armchair

# You can feel his disease

# Come together, right now

# Over me

Oh!

# Come together, right now

# Over me. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That is Alexis, everybody!

Judges, I would remind you to enter your scores now.

So, Alexis, how was that? Because you're in musicals all the time.

-Yeah.

-So, how was it just being yourself out here,

-performing to a crowd, working a crowd?

-Yeah, it's great.

I love doing that. I mean, I love being a character, as well,

but this is what I live for.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Thank you very much!

-Let's go to Amber first.

-What did you think of Alexis?

-Oh, I loved it.

You are clearly comfortable on stage.

One thing that I love it is when someone uses all of their energy

to fill up a whole entire room. The crowd was rocking, right?

-You guys were rocking with him?

-CHEERING

And you have a great voice. Like, yeah, I loved it.

-Thank you very much.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Dannii, what did you think of Alexis?

Is it hot in here or is it just me?!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

SHE MAKES SIZZLING NOISE

Um...seriously, though,

you definitely would work well with a team

and you can shine right out the front on your own.

Man, you've got skills on skills on skills on skills.

- That's what we're looking for. - Thank you so much.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, so, here's the thing, lovely comments, but now it's time

to find out how many stars you've been awarded. You ready for this?

-Thank you. Yeah, I think so!

-OK! Take a deep breath.

We're about to find out how Alexis has been scored.

SWELL OF CHEERS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-18 stars for Alexis! Congratulations!

-Thank you.

-I'm so pleased for you.

-Thank you.

You're going through!

-Thank you so much.

-OK, eh,

Martin, four out of five.

-Why not the five?

-I think he was absolutely fantastic.

I think you could tell that you were in your happy place.

Because there's a certain thing that all the pros do,

when they stand on that audition square,

and it's, they stand there

and, a few seconds, before they're going to start singing,

they take a nice deep breath and they slow their whole body down.

I only gave a four, because I just want to leave

a little bit of room for the next round.

-But I knew you were going through!

-We'll see you in the next stage.

-Thank you very much.

-Alexis, everybody! There you go.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Wow!

-Yeah. Very good. Are you OK there, Dannii?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Um, yeah.

-I've never known Dannii so lost for words.

-AMBER:

-You really needed a fan!

-I've actually got sweaty palms.

He's a good-looking boy, isn't he?

CHEERING

The next round of the competition could see professionals,

like Alexis, perform in a group, alongside singers

with everyday jobs, like Luke.

Having a range of experience in a band is all part of the early

Take That story.

I was working in a bank at the time.

But I had to give it up. But my bank said,

"If ever you want to come back, you can still come back."

And I still remember that now. And I still sometimes think...

-Should I go back?!

-Should I go... Yeah!

-THEY LAUGH

Yeah!

-Have you ever been back into the bank...

-Yeah, I have.

-..just to say "hi"?

-I still bank with the same bank.

-Oh, do you?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Oh, that's sweet!

We're glad you stuck with it, Mark.

Now, there's no set formula for our final band,

but what are the judges' benchmarks when it comes to boybands?

-Tell us, Dannii, who were you a fan of growing up?

-Jackson 5.

# Oh, baby, give me one more chance... #

The music, the dance moves and the magic that was coming off them.

So, the Jacksons get a five from Dannii.

And what about you, Amber?

B2K. I completely lost my mind for them.

And I printed out their lyrics, I had their posters up,

I used to record myself on a cassette tape singing their songs

and mail it to them.

Yes, I know that that's crazy.

# Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy... #

Hang on, got to ask everyone.

OK, then, Gary, whose cassette was on your Walkman?

# Gold... #

In fact, he was in the boyband of my generation when I was a teenager.

I used to buy Spandau one week, Duran Duran the other week.

# This much is true... #

Was Spandau Ballet a boyband?

No. Definitely not.

20-year-old Robert Evans is hoping he's boyband material.

Luckily, he's got loads of experience performing.

The only problem is, it's mostly...

to farmyard animals.

Robert would always be singing around the farm.

You'd definitely hear him before you'd see Robert.

Sometimes, I have to tell him to be quiet

because he does it too much and it's annoying me.

Robert works as a cabinet-maker and he really enjoys his job.

Rob comes in at eight singing and he goes home at five singing.

I've had to issue ear defenders to all my staff.

We actually applied for Robert to go on the show without him knowing.

So, when he found out, I think he was a bit shocked and cross.

But...I reckon he was secretly happy.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, very well. Very well, thank you.

-What's your name, please?

-Robert Evans.

-I'm 20 years old and I'm from mid Wales.

-Great.

Robert, what do you do for a living?

I work at a carpenters' workshop in the day

and then, at night, I go back home and help my dad and my brother

on our family farm.

Sheep and beef, it is. Sheep and cows.

-Give them a little song, now and again?

-Yeah.

Yeah, now and then, to keep myself company.

What's the animals' favourite song that you sing?

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep is pretty good.

-Well, listen, we can't wait to hear you sing. Good luck.

-Thank you.

# There's a calm surrender

# To the rush of day

# When the heat of the rolling wind

# Can be turned away

# An enchanted moment

# And it sees me through

# It's enough for this restless warrior

# Just to be with you

# And can you feel the love tonight?

# How it's laid to rest

# It's enough

# To make kings and vagabonds

# Believe the very best. #

Oh, let's hear it for Robert!

Well done, sir. Lovely to meet you.

-Martin Kemp.

-I really like your voice.

I think you've got a real possibility with it.

But you know, when I was at drama school, there was this saying

and it was the three Ps - practice, performance and passion.

And I think you lacked on two of those tonight.

Gary, what did you think?

I could have taken probably a bit more energy from you.

It was like something to wake everybody up.

But you do have a nice voice. I'm sort of somewhere in the middle.

OK, you know how this works.

We are about to find out how many stars you've got.

-I wish you well, Robert.

-Thank you.

Let's find out how Robert has been scored.

Oh...!

AUDIENCE BOOS 12 stars.

It's respectable. And listen to those boos.

That's what you want to take home. Dannii, just three out of five.

I mean, three isn't a terrible score.

You know what? You have a great voice. You really do.

What you need in theatre,

even if you're standing, singing,

still, there needs to be this energy

that is just pumping through your veins,

so that you move these people.

Amber, what did you think of Robert?

Oh, Robert, you were so sweet and endearing when you came out.

But you were just so nervous.

You were so nervous and so, like, in yourself,

you really weren't singing for the people that were here.

Just thanks ever so much for the opportunity. And, erm...

I'll do my best to carry on.

These people love you.

Give it up for Robert!

Look, it's really hard, you know,

if you've got to give a tough mark to somebody.

# More than words is

# All you have to do to make it real... #

Oh...!

You're aware that it's going to affect

the marking across the panel and their chance of getting through.

We never know what the other judges are scoring.

# I'm in love with you

# And all these little things

# You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you. #

Come on!

Oh...!

Which is why you really have to be confident

about what you felt about that performance.

There's been a couple of times when I've given them a high rating

and the other judges haven't.

Oh...!

And the 15th star doesn't light up for them.

And it's really gutting.

A no is hard. A no is hard to give and I'm sure a no is hard to take.

Come on...!

When that 15th star lights up, it's magic.

Yes! Come on!

Everybody's tense. The stars are lighting up

and you're waiting for that 15th one and then...there it goes.

Yes!

When I see someone's face light up...

Oh...!

..I watch their parents out in the audience and they're losing it.

It just... It makes me so happy.

Our next auditionee, 23-year-old Sam Glen, is feeling the pressure.

He's kept his singing voice under wraps until today.

Sam's had a really successful career in acting.

He played a character called Slim in World's End on CBBC.

Classic!

If you see the pictures of what he used to look like

and what he looks like now, you'd be gobsmacked.

I saw him and I was like... "You're like a different person!

"Where have you gone?"

Sam's never really sang before.

He sang in the bedroom to me.

I was like, "Wow!" I cried.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello.

-Well, you had a great applause when you came out.

-Wow!

-What's your name?

-My name's Sam Glen.

-Hi, Sam Glen.

-How are you?

-I'm nervous, but I'm very well.

OK, take a deep breath. Go...

and exhale. There you go.

-So, Sam, what do you do?

-I'm actually an actor.

That's a big statement, isn't it? I've just done bits and bobs.

I've just always really acted, never really sung before, so...

So, how long has it been since you started singing?

Well, I've always been a bedroom singer.

It's really funny, actually...

-Hello?

-Clarify! Clarify!

Stop there!

Erm, yeah, like, literally, my mum didn't know I could sing

-until three weeks ago.

-Wow!

So, you guys are ready for him, right?

-AUDIENCE:

-Yeah!

Good luck.

# I thought I saw a man brought to life

# He was warm, he came around

# He was dignified

# He showed me what it was to cry

# But you couldn't be that man that I adored

# You don't seem to know or seem to care

# What your heart is for

# Cos I don't know him any more

# There's nothing where he used to lie

# The conversation has run dry

# But that's what's going on

# Cos nothing's fine, I'm torn

# And I'm all out of faith

# And this is how I feel

# I'm cold and I am shamed

# I'm lying naked on the floor

# You're a little late

# Cos I'm already torn

# There's nothing where he used to lie

# My inspiration has run dry

# That's what's going on

# Cos nothing's right, I'm torn

# And I'm all out of faith

# And this is how I feel

# I'm cold and I am shamed

# Lying naked on the floor

# Illusion never changed

# Into something real

# I'm wide awake and I can see

# The perfect sky is torn

# You're a little late,

# Cos I'm already

# Torn. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Wow!

Let's hear it for Sam, everybody!

Well done. You all liked it.

CHEERING

So you said you were a bit nervous. How do you feel now?

This is just like leather right now.

Let's go to the judges. Amber?

You're a fibber. You've done this before.

-I swear, I promise, I haven't.

-I really did enjoy it.

I definitely feel like vocal training

is probably something that you should look into.

But I really enjoyed the theatrics.

I liked the faces that you were making.

-And you were trying to look at the audience, so...

-Cheers.

All right, thanks, Amber. Martin, what did you think?

Do you know what I saw?

I saw loads of drama techniques coming out in you tonight.

And so often, I see people going up for musical theatre auditions

that don't do that.

They just concentrate on their voice, "Oh, look at me singing."

But you didn't tonight.

You used what you knew and that was your strength.

-And I thought that was fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Wow.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And I'm guessing your family over there must be so proud.

All right, Sam, this is it. Let's find out how Sam has been scored.

Oh...!

Another one!

15!

Fabulous!

Well done, sir.

Thank you.

Oh...

Thank you so much.

I'm so happy for you, Sam. That's brilliant.

Thank you.

Right across the board fours.

They all liked you.

-Gary, what did you think?

-Sam, promise me something,

that you'll never start an audition again by saying,

"I'm not the best singer, but..."

Because actually, you've got a great little voice under there.

You really have.

And like Amber said, you know,

there's moments which were a little bit out of control,

but I thought, in general,

it was really animated and very entertaining.

-Thank you.

-I thought you did a very nice audition. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

These are good things. They're saying nice things to you.

Dannii, what would you say to him?

I'm absolutely confused why you've waited so long to sing

and why it was just the acting up until now.

Do you know what? It's such a cheesy answer,

but when you act, you're somebody else.

And, like, for me to sing here, this is me kind of exposed.

So, yeah, it's kind of a big thing for me to expose myself like that.

Listen, Sam, we're going to see you again. Huge congratulations to you.

-I'm so pleased for you. Sam, everybody!

-Thank you so much.

He played to his strengths.

And that's what a lot of people don't do and they get it wrong.

But he's got a big voice.

I think it's bigger than he probably thinks that it is.

He just doesn't know how to use it yet.

It's kind of cool to listen to that, though.

I love it when someone's not quite grown into their voice.

You only know it's going to be good ahead.

-He's only just come out of his bedroom.

-That's right, yeah!

-I bet your mum's very proud.

-Yeah.

It sounded beautiful, and a great choice of song.

One of my favourite songs. When you started singing that... Beautiful.

-Really well done.

-Thank you. Oldham boys.

Oldham boys, yeah!

Come on, let's see. Oh, now, hang on.

If you're playing netball, you're not allowed to walk with the ball.

I can't walk?

When I was a little boy, I did Oliver! in the West End.

Yeah, I was, erm...Boy 14.

Boy 14? Did you have any lines?

No.

As the Let It Shine auditions reach boiling point,

now more than ever, the boys battling for the role

need to show charisma, some je ne sais quoi,

downright cheeky chappiness.

When someone comes out and you like them, the audience relax.

-My name's Connor. I'm from Manchester.

-Hi, Connor.

CHEERING

Well, you've already won the audience over.

You pick up on their energy.

Makes you smile, makes you feel good.

I'm loving the look. The cat on the top.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a cat person.

LAUGHTER

-What do you do for a living?

-I'm a fitness instructor.

Running? Yoga?

-No, not yoga, mate.

-Not yoga?

-No.

Maybe. Book us in, me and you.

LAUGHTER

You know, once people decide that they like you, they're there.

They're your champion, they're your fans.

# You're my brown-eyed girl

# Now, do you remember

# When we used to sing

# Sha la la la la la la la la la-la te da? #

Everyone, now!

# Sha la la la la la la la la la-la te da

# Brown-eyed girl. #

It was so...quirky.

You're different. You're unexpected.

I don't know what's going to come next.

Yes!

This isn't about a cheeky chappy smile.

It's what's going on in their brain.

It's what's happening right in the centre.

I just graduated at uni, actually. Studying media.

-So now I'm working as a chef.

-LAUGHTER

-What do you specialise in?

-In cooking?

I don't know, I make a really good soup.

LAUGHTER

# I have climbed the highest mountains

# I have run through the fields

# Only to be with you

# Only to be with you

# But I still haven't found

# What I'm looking for

# But I still haven't found

# What I'm looking for. #

The tone of your voice is really beautiful.

I think you have a great stage presence.

Oh...!

Well, I'm a sucker for likeability.

-What do you do for a living?

-I'm a tree surgeon.

I'm just doing it during my gap year before I go to uni.

All right, so what if you get this job?

Well, it's going out the window, then, isn't it?

LAUGHTER

# Once I ran to you

# But now I run from you

# This tainted love you've given

# I gave you all a boy could give you

# Take my tears and that's not nearly all

# Tainted love

# Tainted love

# Don't touch me, please

# I cannot stand the way you tease

# I'm in love. #

CHEERING

The whole personality, the charisma leapt off the stage.

Here we go!

Yes!

Charisma is just an interesting thing.

Nobody really knows what it is. It's just, if you have it, you have it.

But you should use it for good and not for evil.

Right, time to surprise our last secret nominee.

For this final one, Gary is about to gate-crash graduation day.

At Kingston University,

student Anthony Sahota is receiving his degree

after listening to his mum

and swapping music for mechanical engineering.

Before he came to university, he got a chance at a record deal,

but I wouldn't let him sign it.

I wanted him to have a degree, something to fall back on.

CHEERING

I nominated Anthony because now I think he deserves

to have that chance.

# Everybody wants to rule the world... #

He's got a great look. And he's obviously a smart boy.

I just hope that that passion he had when he left school,

he's kept it in the back pocket somewhere

and he's about to bring it back out again.

Anthony thinks the university is filming the big day.

But we know there's someone else about to be caught on camera.

Hey, everyone.

-MEL:

-Even Anthony is getting in on this filming malarkey.

Man, that's sick! Wow!

-Where's Anthony?

-What?

No...way!

-Hi, Anthony.

-Oh, my gosh.

-I'm Gary, nice to meet you.

Anthony, your gorgeous mum, Caroline,

has very kindly nominated you

to come and sing on our Let It Shine stage.

CHEERING

I'm speechless. This is just unbelievable. Erm, I...

I can't fathom...

I can't put it into words. It's too...

CHEERING AND LAUGHTER

Ah...

Well, let's hope Anthony passes his next examination

with flying colours.

# I know I misbehaved

# You made your mistakes

# We both still got room left to grow

# And though love sometimes hurts

# I still put you first

# And we'll make this thing work

# But I think we should take it slow

# We're just ordinary people

# We don't know which way to go

# Cos we're ordinary people

# Maybe we should take it slow

# Take it slow. #

Anthony, everybody.

APPLAUSE

The audience didn't go crazy and that's because

you need to just work a little bit more on your performance,

the selling of the song.

Oh...

Yes!

16!

-I really thought that it was beautiful.

-You look great, as well.

You looked the part.

Go and see great performers.

You can learn from them. Who do you love?

I really, really like the Backstreet Boys as, like, a band themselves.

I think vocally they're one of the strongest bands around.

Hang on, hang on, hang on.

No, Gary, no... No, no, Gary.

-I love you.

-Ladies and gentlemen, it's Anthony!

-He's got a long way to go, that boy.

-Yeah, and a smart boy.

He'll be the wise one of the band.

-Martin, who was the worrier in Spandau?

-The worrier?

-Because I was the worrier in our band.

-We took it in turns.

Especially in the days of the second album.

-We never knew if it was going to work or not.

-Yeah.

And we all worried about that.

As the audition finishing line approaches,

there are some final boyband cliches

that I think are worthy of a little further interrogation.

I have been trying all morning to do my signature boyband

getting off a stool manoeuvre.

Would you...? Could you show us?

Hang on a second, though. The real boyband never sat on stools.

CHEERING

Yes, Gary. They know. They know it's true. They know.

-Was that Westlife?

-That was Westlife.

It was Westlife, Gary, I'm sorry.

What does he know?

I've got my boyband checklist at the ready.

How about one last dose of Essex charm?

All right, Dannii? How you doing, girl, all right?

Yeah, you're looking very lovely.

# Oooh, I want to get it on

# Oooh

# Oooh hooo-hooo... #

Oh...!

OK, so Liam didn't win them over. What else have you got?

How about an Irishman? We know a thing or two about boybands.

Actually, the second and third best boybands in the world

-are from Ireland.

-I have to live up to something now.

# And you can tell everybody

# This is your song

# It may be quite simple, but