[Arneldo]

GLITZY sing-a-along karaoke show Soapstar Superstar has been dumped — despite bumper ratings.

The news will shock fans of the programme, which was fronted by Zoe Ball and which pulled in around SEVEN MILLION viewers for January’s final.

It has run for only two years — but an insider explained: “ITV1’s new bosses think it’s time to give it a rest.

“They feel it is a bit too similar to X Factor. We know this won’t go down too well among some viewers — but we are planning to come up with other great shows instead.”

This year’s series was a runaway success — thanks largely to the ample charms of former Hollyoaks babe Gemma Atkinson.

She set tongues wagging while filming the show in Manchester by dating Man United footie ace Cristiano Ronaldo. And the production gave a major career boost to this year’s winner Antony Cotton, Corrie’s Sean Tully.

He is now in talks with ITV about hosting a chat show. Last year’s winner was Weatherfield’s Richard Fleeshman.

An ITV spokeswoman said: “We have decided to rest Soapstar Superstar next year. But it may well come back one day.”

Soapstar Superstar was hailed as the ultimate entertainment show by ITV when it launched last year — mixing soapstars from all channels with an X Factor-style contest.

The first series featured Cilla Black, Billy Sammeth and Chris Cowey on the judging panel — with Fern Britton and Ben Shephard as the hosts.

This year’s show saw Martine McCutcheon and Michael Ball replace Cilla on the panel.

The Sun