Soap on a hope

CAN you do a Dingle? Could you pout like Peggy? Or brawl like a Battersby? Well, now's your chance to prove it? Apparently, the people who brought us Popstars, where five unknowns were catapulted to fame, fortune and the top of the charts as Hear'Say, have been forgiven. They are back offering everyone the chance to become a famous television face.

Auditions are being held in Yorkshire next week as producers look for a new family for the sex'n'sheepdip soap Emmerdale.

All the auditions, available to everyone over the age of 16, will be filmed for the pre-soap docusoap called Soapstars. This show will have more froth than Tetley's.

But something may yet burst the broadcasters' bubble. It has been reported that there has already been rumblings in the dales from the regular cast who are not happy about the way in which the new arrivals are going to be selected.

Soapstars series producer Tim Miller says: "We are looking for a family of around five people although this is going to be flexible depending on the amount of talent we come across.

"We are looking for new talent but that does not mean that people who have experience will not be able to audition. If you think about Popstars, the ten who made it to the final were semi-professional singers.

"I'm sure that we will come across some undiscovered gems but we also realise that experience counts for a lot in these things."

In order to make the grade there are going to be a fair number of hurdles to overcome before making it through to the final selection.

A panel of three - made up of a soap writer, drama producer and casting director - will have the ultimate say in who gets selected to appear in the Bafta-award winning soap.

Tim said: "The casting will start as people are queuing up to get into the auditions. The casting director will be walking along the queues to get a first impression."

As for the auditions themselves, "it's going to be tough," admits Tim. "Our would-be soap stars will have just 15 seconds to convince the panel that they should get a call back.

"They will have to sell themselves by performing something original. It could be an improvisation or just by talking to the panel. The judges will also be testing the way in which the soap hopefuls can switch their emotions.

"They might have to start off by delivering their piece as if they were in love and then suddenly switch to feeling very angry. At this stage the panel will also be watching how people appear on screen - some people just light up in front of a camera."

Those who get through this stage will then be called back to act in one of a number of well-known scenes from Emmerdale. These include Paddy's proposal to Mandy Dingle at the vet's ball, Marlon and Tricia discussing their plans for Chez Marlon and Kathy having a row with Robert and Andy.

"This will help us to see how their performances compare with the original transmitted footage," says Miller. "With Popstars you could either sing or you couldn't. Our show will be a more subtle and complicated process.

"We have to look for a number of things as well as checking that people can act. We have to ask if they can learn their lines quickly, can they work well as a team and how do they look on camera?"

The semi-finals will then be held in London. "The regional auditions will show us who can act and who can't," says Miller. "The semi-finals are going to help decide who will play which role in the soaps.

"By this point we should have more of an idea about the specific roles and we will have a full brief from the soap writers. People will be put into families to see how they interact with each other.

"There will be around 50 finalists for the five parts. We might have some of the cast come in to talk to them and I expect the producers will want to come in and have a look at our hopefuls."

He believes that Soapstars will show how hard it is to make it into the nation's favourite TV shows.

"I think we will show how getting a part in a soap is a long and very hard process and not everybody can do it. We will probably see a lot of talent being lost along the way.

"I don't think there is any mystique in being a soap star these days. The actors live in the public eye and soaps show no sign of their popularity waning as a result of this."

For more information ring the Soapstars hotline on 0901 270 6020 (calls cost 25p per minute). Do not contact the individual venues as they have no information about auditions.

Auditions take place at City Hall, Sheffield, on June 8-9

Updated: 10:33 Saturday, June 02, 2001