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TV highlights: Sat 27 July - Fri 2 August
You Saw Them Here First (Wed, 8pm, ITV)
Not an original format – this is essentially a ‘Before They Were Famous’ knock-off – but none the less enjoyable for that, partly because of suitably snarky narration from Robert Webb. Among the stars shown making unglamorous debuts with bit parts or on game shows are Sir Sean Connery, Dame Judi Dench, Chris Tarrant and Declan Donnelly. Female viewers may wish to note the presence of an underwear-clad Daniel Craig on a nineties episode of ‘Boon’, while there’s one for the fellers in the 1986 swimsuit appearance of a young Halle Berry. There are early performances from Simon Cowell, Will Young, Jessie J (pictured here), Charlotte Church, Naomi Campbell, Gordon Ramsey and countless others. And hats off to the stars brave enough to come on the show and relive their embarrassing debuts: Michelle Collins talks us through her 1982 efforts on a David Essex showcase, and Stephen Mulhern assesses his performance as a magician at Butlin’s.
Our resident TV expert Alan Tyers’ pick of the week’s TV highlights...