ITV’s upcoming Christmas singing competition will see celebrities “slightly forced out of their comfort zone to raise awareness for a wonderful cause”, Jason Manford has said.
The comedian and singer will be part of an all-star judging Super Panel for Britain Get Singing, a 90 minute special that sees famous faces compete against one another and showcase their vocal prowess.
Hosted by TV and radio presenter Roman Kemp, the show will see a number of groups comprised of stars from TV’s biggest shows go head-to-head in a sing-off, for members of the studio audience.
The show will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve and will be in support of the channel’s mental health campaign Britain Get Talking.
Manford will be joined by some of TV’s most well-known judges including, The Voice UK’s will.i.am, Britain’s Got Talent’s Alesha Dixon and Starstruck’s Adam Lambert.
Asked about that viewers could expect from the show, he said: “You can expect all your favourite ITV faces slightly forced out of their comfort zone to raise awareness for a wonderful cause to get Britain talking and to get Britain singing.
“It’s a great cause to be involved with. To see them up there doing something they don’t normally do is very entertaining.
“There’s laughter and there’s tears – it’s a really lovely, beautiful show.”
To help promote the importance of looking after mental wellbeing, the star-studded special will also feature clips in which the singers discuss their own experiences of mental health.
Manford said the level of talent displayed by the celebrity contestants had been “brilliant”.
“To get all those stars from Coronation Street, I don’t know how they found the time to rehearse and get it right,” he said.
“It was great to see everybody working together for a wonderful cause.”
Former Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am added: “I was blown away with the level of talent, and of the purity of heart and love that everyone brought to this show.”
Dixon described the show as “really warm… with lots of familiar faces”.
“It’s funny, emotional and surprising – it’s the perfect show for the festive period,” she said.
Britain Get Talking was launched in 2019 and has seen multiple famous faces – including Sir Captain Tom Moore, Susanna Reid, and Maya Jama – speak out about their personal experiences and struggles with mental health.
According to ITV, research indicates that Britons have had 100 million new or more meaningful conversations as a result of the campaign, since its launch.
Susie Braun, ITV’s director of Social Purpose, said: “Since it launched in 2019, Britain Get Talking has seen over a hundred of the nation’s best-loved celebrities encouraging the nation to connect with each other.
“Britain Get Singing will see even more join that number as part of this Christmas treat with an important message: we can all nurture our mental wellbeing by getting together.”
Britain Get Singing airs Christmas Eve, 8.05pm on ITV1 and ITV
