Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc front this ten-part BBC One search for five lads who can sing, move and sell the idea of a touring boy-band musical built from Take That back-catalogue. Created and executive-produced by Gary Barlow, the contest begins with “The Starway”, where hopefuls must bag fifteen of twenty possible stars from Barlow, Dannii Minogue and Martin Kemp to advance. Subsequent “Collaborations” pair survivors with chart guests (Busted, Kaiser Chiefs, Beverley Knight) at Dock10, MediaCityUK, before live “Battle of the Bands” episodes whittle the field to the final quintet.
The prize is a year on the road in “The Band”, a stage show whose script frames Take That hits around a female friendship story rather than the group’s own biography. Sixty-two dancers, singers and actor-musicians turned up for November 2016 filming; by late February 2017 only five remained. Ratings cooled as the series progressed, slipping from 7.13 million for the opener to just over 3 million for the final, with the BBC One weekly share dipping below 20 percent.
Critical reception was polite but sceptical: newspapers noted the irony of a band still actively touring recruiting replacements through reality TV. None of the winners – AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and Sario Solomon – became household names, and “The Band” closed its UK tour in autumn 2019 after 145 performances. Let It Shine never returned for a second run; Barlow subsequently channelled similar energy into the BBC’s “Greatest Dancer”. The single series now survives mainly as a curio for Take That completists and as evidence that even the shiniest format can fade fast without a breakout star.
Production Details
BBC One / 1 Season / 10 Episodes / 2017 - Present
Created by: Gary Barlow
Producer(s): Gary Barlow
Main Cast
Mel Giedroyc as Self - Presenter
Gary Barlow as Self - Judge
Dannii Minogue as Self - Judge
Graham Norton as Self - Presenter
Martin Kemp as Self - Judge
