22 October (2023-10-22)– 10 December 2023 (2023-12-10)
Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream is a British reality talent competition that began airing on 22 October 2023 on ITV. The show documented the search for two new, unknown musical theatre performers to play the roles of Sophie Sheridan and Sky Ramand in the West End production of the musical Mamma Mia!. The series was presented by Zoe Ball, and features Samantha Barks, Alan Carr, Amber Riley and Jessie Ware as judges. The series was won by Stevie Doc and Tobias Turley to play Sophie and Sky respectively.
The series documented the search to find two unknown musical theatre stars to play the central roles of Sophie Sheridan and Sky Ramand in the 2024 West End production of the musical Mamma Mia! for the musical's 25th anniversary.[1][2] The format was similar to that of the BBC competitions How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do, I'd Do Anything and Over the Rainbow which aired on BBC One in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 respectively.[3]ITV later aired a similar programme in 2012, Superstar.[4] The series featured fourteen contestants, seven men and seven women, who took part in masterclasses, challenges and workshops focused on singing, dancing and acting which led to a finale set which took place in a West End theatre where a public vote decided the winners.[5][6]
Production
In September 2022, it was reported that ITV were planning to revive the musical theatre talent search format with a new series based on Mamma Mia.[7] In December 2022, ITV confirmed the commissioning of Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream. The series was produced by Thames, the production company behind the reality television formats Britain's Got Talent and I Can See Your Voice. The series is filmed in Corfu, Greece and is presented by Zoe Ball.[8] The judges included Samantha Barks, who was a finalist on I'd Do Anything in 2008, comedian Alan Carr, Glee actress Amber Riley and singer Jessie Ware.[9][10]
Contestants
The fourteen contestants competing for the roles of Sophie and Sky were announced on the day of the show's broadcast.[11]
In the show's second episode, the Sophies had to demonstrate their acting skills by recreating a scene from the film, before having to perform solo for the first time.[12]
In the show's third episode, the Skys had to demonstrate their acting skills by recreating a scene from the film, before having to perform solo for the first time.[13]
For the show's the fourth episode, the Sophies and Skys were paired up and had to recreate a scene between the characters and sing "Lay All Your Love on Me, before performing a duet together.[14]
For the show's the fifth episode, the Sophies and Skys were sorted into new pairs and had take part in a choreography work shop before performing a dance style in a duet together.[15]
For the show's sixth episode, the Sophies had to embark on an acting workshop in which they had to recreate a scene from the film between Sophie and her mother Donna Sheridan, played Mazz Murray, who played the role of Donna in West End production of Mamma Mia!. The Sophies and Skys were again sorted into new pairings and had to perform a new duet.[16]
In the semi-finals episode, the Sophies and Skys were sorted into new pairings; (Esme & Owen, Craig & Stephanie and Stevie & Tobias) for their final acting workshop in which each pair had to recreate the wedding scene between Sophie and Sky. Each contestant then performed an ABBA song solo, before the finalists were announced.[17]
For the final episode, the show was broadcast live from the Novello Theatre (home of Mamma Mia in the West End) and the Sophies and Skys had to perform one last time in a bid to impress the public, who would vote for who they wanted to win and ultimately play the roles of Sophie and Sky in the West End production of Mamma Mia!.[18]
The final vote was then announced and it was revealed that the winners were Stevie and Tobias with Judy Craymer saying "It's a joyous result and I'm delighted to welcome Stevie and Tobias to join the West End cast in this very special year celebrating Mamma Mia!'s 25th anniversary. All our contestants are so talented and worked so hard, they went through the most intensive musical theatre boot camp with such energy, flair and commitment. They were all such a joy to work with and are all winners in my eyes." Stevie and Tobias then concluded the series with a performance of "Mamma Mia".
The series was described by Lucy Mangan of The Guardian as a "wildly rushed, tension-free series that is never less than shrill". She ranked the series 2 out of 5 stars and noted that [the programme] showed "virtually nothing of the workshops and even less of the rehearsals" [...] adding that although the show featured full-length renditions of ABBA's greatest hits and great fun, there was "no tension, no investment, no context for any of [the programme]."[3]
Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph was more positive in her review of the show's format, describing it as a "talent show with actual talent" and an "all-singing, all-dancing delight, perfect to distract from Britain's gloomy skies".[19]The Independent ranked the series 4 stars, a noted that the show "wonderfully captured [Mamma Mia's] unhinged party atmosphere, whilst Digital Spy observed that viewers had compared the series' contestants to that of Love Island.[20][21]
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