Jason Manford has jokingly hit back at those comparing his new show Starstruck to Stars In Their Eyes.
The comedian and theatre star is one of the judges on the new ITV talent show, which debuted on Saturday night.
It sees three members of the public transform into their musical idols and compete against each other for a place in the grand final and the chance to win £50,000.
As the show aired, Jason knew that people would be making comparisons to the classic Stars In Their Eyes series, which also saw contestants transform into singing stars.
He tweeted: “Enjoy #Starstruck. It’s a great show. If you think we sat the whole series and not one of mentioned the similarity to #StarsInTheirEyes, you’re thick mate!
“Of course it is, so feel free to not tell me but do try to guess who the contestants are gonna be & best soundalike.”
Stars In Their Eyes aired from 1990 to 2006, and was hosted by the likes of Matthew Kelly and Cat Deeley.
It had a comedic reboot in 2015 with Harry Hill fronting the new version, but it was poorly received and axed after just one series.
Unlike Stars In Their Eyes, Starstruck sees a panel of judges presiding over the contestants.
Jason appears on the panel alongside Beverley Knight, Adam Lambert and Sheridan Smith, who he also spoke out in defence of.
As some social media users noted that the show had started in the same week her latest drama No Return debuted on ITV, Jason tweeted: “Seen a few comments about Sheridan being on tv a lot this week. It’s not sommat she’s in charge of,she would’ve filmed those 3 excellent shows last year & some scheduler decided they went on this week. So chill out, also she’s excellent & you’re lucky to have her.”
Starstruck continues on Saturday at 8.30pm on ITV.