Fame Academy: Encyclopedia II - Fame Academy - Series Two 2003

Fame Academy - Series Two 2003

The second series of Fame Academy started in 2003, with some changes. Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty continued as lead presenters. Songwriting teacher Pam Sheyne did not return, and the role of dance teacher Kevin Adams was reduced. Headteacher Richard Park was nasty to contestants this year, in Simon Cowell style. Carrie Grant's husband, David Grant, joined the series as an extra voice coach. Bee Gee Robin Gibb joined the show as a judge for the live shows, along with the two Grant's and Park would held the casting vote.

The live singing for survival shows were moved to Saturday nights. Instead of taking place at Shepperton Studios, they took place from within the Academy itself. Highlight shows were axed from BBC One, but still aired on BBC Three.

For the first two weeks in the show, the final 25 contestants performed and the public voted for thirteen to enter the Academy. Six contestants performed in each of these four shows (seven in the first) with the two (three in the first show) with the most votes from the public gaining a place in the Academy while and the two with the least votes being eliminated. The fate of the remaining two was decided by the students who had already qualified with one of the two being 'saved' and given a place in the Academy.

This year's contestants were Audley Anderson, Nick Hall, Lorna Grant, Gary Phelan, Simone Stewart, Louise Griffiths, Barry McKeever, Paris Campbell-Edwards, James Fox, Peter Brame, Carolynne Good, Alistair Griffin and Alex Parks.

The elimination mechanism was also changed, in part to compete with Pop Idol. The public would vote on all. The three with the fewest number of public votes would be then at risk. The Judges saved one and the students the other, (with public votes being the tiebreaker. When there was only four left the Judges' would not longer have a vote, and the order of the final three remained solely up to the public.

The series started controversially, as it was revealed that several of the contestants already had song publishing contracts, although none were actually signed to record labels.

This year there was a fair amount of bitching in the Academy, with many of the girls openly stating that they felt uncomfortable around Barry. Producers decided to stir up trouble by showing footage of bitching during a brief highlights package on one of the live shows - which all of the students could see.

Peter and Alex were quick to make friends, but their friendship soon fizzled out when Peter accused Alex of having bad breath. She was angry at his lack of consideration for her feelings, and when it seemed as if her friend Carolynne was about to start a relationship with Peter, she was quick to register her disapproval.

Alistair and James also became firm friends, with James getting a reputation for his constant moaning, and Alistair consciously playing to the camera, doing impressions and clowning around. Alistair was later accused of betraying his friend by voting to save Peter instead of James in the live showdown.

Tensions ran high this year, with arguments regularly breaking out between the Fame Academy teachers. The two Grants often disagreed with Richard, while Robin Gibb tried to be nice to all of the students.

The main drama of the series came when host Patrick Kielty decided that he would fight the cause of the students each week, as Richard's criticisms got worse and worse. Richard launched a verbal attack against Patrick on live television, accusing Patrick of not allowing him to express his opinions. "Ladies and gentlemen, this man is so sycophantic it's tiring," he told the live audience. Regular arguments broke out between the pair week after week after this exchange. Opinions are still divided among fans about whether the arguments were staged for ratings or not.

Highlights shown on the live streaming included late night singing sessions around the piano; Peter's outrageous behaviour on his trips out, his rows with Kevin, and his later relationship with Carolynne; Alex and Carolynne being punished for communicating off camera; Alistair getting drunk and climbing into Louise's bed; and the finalists' last evening which culminated in a game of 'Truth or Dare' with Alistair stripping to just his shirt and a guitar.

The live Fame Academy shows often clashed with the live shows of the startingly similar Pop Idol. Fame Academy usually came worse off in these ratings showdown, and fans disliked not being able to choose to watch both shows if they wished.

Alex Parks was the winner of the second series, beating Alistair Griffin and Carolynne Good in the final showdown. The final was shown live, and an unscripted outburst by guest singer Daniel Bedingfield, favouring Alex, caused many viewers to complain of bias, although this was later denied by the BBC.

Alex and Alistair were both immediately signed to major record labels and each went on to have a top 5 single. They have both subsequently released top 20 albums. Carolynne spent the following year songwriting and in 2005 toured the UK with Tony Christie. In 2004 James was chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, and has since been successful in musical theatre.

It is currently unclear whether the show will return for a third series.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Series Two 2003", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki