Thank the Lord! Possibly the worst TV talent show in recent years (with the exception of Grease Is The Word of course!) has been axed by the BBC.

The One and Only which aired this winter on BBC One, brought us tribute acts from all over the UK, competing to win a performance contract in Las Vegas. But I have to say the whole thing bored me to tears!

Bring back Just The Two Of Us I say!

Actors union Equity are blasting Endemol and the BBC for refusing to pay the contestants on their recent talent show, The One and Only.

In the primetime show impersonators were competing for a performance contract in Las Vegas, however unlike previous BBC talent shows How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, the participants were not even paid the minimum wage.

Assistant general secretary of Equity, Andy Prodger said: “Endemol is one of the biggest and most profitable independent TV producers, yet despite numerous approaches by Equity they have refused to pay even the smallest possible fee to the 24 contestants which have made The One And Only such a big hit.

“When the BBC produced their own talent shows, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, they acted honourably and engaged all the finalists on proper industry-standard contracts with pay rates well above national minimum wage and have agreed to do so again in the forthcoming shows I’d Do Anything, which hopes to cast parts in a forthcoming production of Oliver. Unfortunately Endemol is apparently happy to exploit the dreams of aspiring performers without offering them a penny.”

He said: “I am very disappointed that the BBC, which is funded by the licence fee, allows such exploitation and doubt if the viewers who spent good money on telephone voting knew that none of the money would go to the performers who entertained them so well.”

So I tuned in to the BBC’s The One And Only a little late in the series. In fact tonight’s live final was the first of the shows I have managed to watch. I kept intending to watch it week after week, but I was never a big Stars In Their Eyes fan, so I wasn’t holding out great hope for this latest BBC effort.

I was pleasantly surprised by Moni’s rendition of Lionel Richie’s All Night Long, in fact after watching that performance I was sure he would win.

Katy Setterfield sang well, but since I’m not really sure who Dusty Springfield is/was much of the effect of her act was lost on me.

She won in the end, not just the show but also a three month performing contract in Las Vegas. But what I want to know is will the people of America have any idea who Dusty Springfield is?

I bet I get hundreds of emails from all you Dusty fans out there now, telling me of her world wide success and domination……

BBC killjoys have banned members of the The One And Only audience, from throwing knickers at Tom Jones lookalike, Simon Abbotts.

The bosses are said to be worried that Simon may trip on a pair of knickers whilst performing, but his family think it’s health and safety gone mad!

His mum Val told The Sun: “We were a bit disappointed. It’s health and safety gone mad. For as long as he’s been impersonating Tom, Simon’s never once slipped up on any stray item of underwear.”

Tonight the third act to be voted off BBC One’s The One And Only… was Tara Stafford-Allen after she failed to impress with her tribute to Britney Spears.

In the third live show of the series, the remaining ten tribute acts each sang a solo song as they set out to prove that they were every inch the musical superstar that they were paying tribute to.

Following candid feedback from vocal experts Carrie and David Grant the acts waited patiently for the results of the all-important viewers’ vote.

After a tense wait the two tribute acts with the least number of viewers’ votes were Tara Stafford-Allen as Britney Spears and Victoria Jones as Kylie Minogue.

Singing for their survival, Victoria and Tara had to perform once again in the Superstar Sing-off to keep their place for another week.

Then it was down to the Superstar Vote where the eight surviving tributes voted to save the act they wanted to keep in the contest.

Victoria won five votes from the tributes to Cher, Elton John, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross and Robbie Williams while, with three votes from the tributes to Lionel Richie, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones, Tara was left to say goodbye, her hopes of making it to Vegas shattered.

On losing out, an emotional Tara said: “I’ve absolutely loved it. Can I keep the bike?”

Commenting on Tara’s first performance as Britney Spears on tonight’s show, vocal coaches to the stars Carrie and David Grant said: “You needed to give it energy tonight. It’s hard, it’s angry, it’s sexy, it’s Britney – you gave it all these things.”

The remaining nine tribute acts through to next week’s show will be battling it out once again for the once in a lifetime opportunity of performing live on the Las Vegas stage with the renowned Legends In Concert – the world’s longest running tribute show.

Tonight the second act to be voted off BBC One’s The One And Only… was Evelyne Brink after she failed to impress with her tribute to the queen of pop, Madonna.

In the second live show of the series, the remaining 11 tribute acts each sang a solo song as they set out to prove that they were every inch the musical superstar that they were paying tribute to.

Following frank feedback from vocal experts Carrie and David Grant, the acts then waited for the results of the all-important viewers’ vote. After a tense wait the two tribute acts with the least number of viewers’ votes were revealed as Evelyne Brink as Madonna and Siam Hurlock as Diana Ross.

Singing for their survival, Evelyne and Siam had to perform once again in the Superstar Sing-off to keep their place for another week. Then it was down to the Superstar Vote where the nine surviving tributes voted to save the act they wanted to keep in the contest.

Siam won nine votes from the tributes to Elton John, Cher, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Richie, Robbie Williams, Kylie and Britney Spears, while with just two votes from the tributes to Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones, Evelyne was left to say goodbye, her hopes of making it to Vegas shattered.

Commenting on Evelyne’s first performance as Madonna on tonight’s show, vocal coaches to the stars Carrie and David Grant disagreed somewhat:

David said: “First the good news, there was an intensity and a presence about that performance that I really liked. But the bad news is that that could be undone by the fact that the vocals were wavering, they were in and out of pitch and even though you sound like Madonna, if you’re not able to hold the pitch that will undermine however good your performance is.”

While Carrie said: “Hang on a minute because what we’ve been working on this week, yes the tuning because of course that matters, but it’s the vulnerability and for me you did deliver tonight Evelyne. You gave it exactly what we’ve been working on.”

The remaining ten tribute acts through to next week’s show will be battling it out once again for the once in a lifetime opportunity of performing live on the Las Vegas stage with the renowned Legends In Concert – the world’s longest running tribute show.

BBC Ones newest primetime show, The One and Only has been criticised for damaging the tribute industry.

Meatloaf impersonator Dean Torkington told The Stage newspaper: “The best tribute acts are that busy that they can’t give up two or three months to be at the beck and call of the BBC.

“We cannot do that. If you can give up two months of your diary and enter a competition hoping you’ll win, obviously you cannot have a lot of work.

“If I was watching this show and owned a big hotel and was thinking of hiring a tribute act, it would put me off booking a tribute show for life. It has set the industry back.”

Phil Fryer, who impersonates Frank Sinatra, added: “I think it’s a bit of an insult to say it’s a search to find the best tribute in the country. It makes a mockery of the industry and hasn’t done the tribute game any favours.”

A BBC spokesman defended the show saying:

“Far from making a mockery of tribute acts, it’s a celebration of the dedication, hard work and professionalism which goes into making a convincing tribute act.

“The nationwide audition shows attracted strong competition for the chance to take part and win a once in a lifetime prize of performing in Las Vegas.”

So what do you think? Have you been enjoying the show? Leave your comments below…

The first tribute act to be voted off tonight’s live BBC One show was Greg Dorrell after failing to convince the nation that he was The One And Only… Rod Stewart.

In the first live show of the series, hosted by Graham Norton, the 12 tribute acts were put through their paces as they each sang a solo song, aiming to capture the very essence of their musical superstar in front of a studio audience including their friends and family and the Superfans who chose them.

The two tribute acts with the least number of viewers’ votes who found themselves in the Superstar Sing-off, performing once again and fighting for a place in next week’s show, were Greg Dorrell as Rod Stewart and Evelyne Brink as Madonna.

After failing to persuade the audience at home to keep them in the show, the final fate of Greg and Evelyne was left to their rival acts in the Superstar Vote, where the ten tribute acts who were safe were asked to vote for the act they wanted to keep in the contest.

Eveylne won nine votes from tributes to Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Richie, Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Cher, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield and Kylie.

With only one vote, from the Tom Jones tribute act, Greg was the loser, his dreams of a three month performance contract in Vegas with the renowned Legends In Concert in tatters.

Tonight on BBC One Graham Norton will host an exciting new Saturday night entertainment show which spotlights the UK’s leading tribute acts as they battle it out to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – a three-month performing contract in Las Vegas with the renowned Legends In Concert, one of the world’s longest-running celebrity impersonator shows.

Imagine the glamour and glitz of swinging Sinatra doing big-band battle with the undisputed princess of pop, Kylie, or the timeless Sir Elton John fighting it out against sexy chanteuse Cher in a bid to take the tribute act crown. Performers must not just sing like a musical superstar, but they must also look like them, dress like them and act like them.

Ohhhh it sounds too camp to be real!

Originally from Germany, Evelyne is 31 and lives in London. She has lived in the United States, where she attended the New York School of Acting and Film. It was there that she was told she looked like Madonna and should consider performing as a Madonna tribute.

She moved to the UK in 2001 and started working as a Madonna tribute. She currently performs her act as often as possible, on average once a month, mainly at corporate events.

Evelyne has always wanted to be famous and says that she has been preparing for fame since she was five years old. She is very determined and ambitious; traits which she feels she shares with Madonna.

She has a natural confidence onstage and shares her confidence with others in her work as a Life Coach.

Evelyne lives with her boyfriend of two years, Thomas, who she says is her number one supporter.