''Star Stories'' is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

comedy programme that took a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

look at

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

and their lives. It was first shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

on 15 September 2006. ''Star Stories'' is made by Objective Productions commissioned for Channel 4 by Shane Allen and Andrew Newman with Lee Hupfield producing, Elliot Hegarty directing and Phil Clarke and Andrew O'Connor as executive producers. '' The Sun'' reported that Channel 4 had axed ''Star Stories'' to free up cash to invest in other shows. The main theme of the show was the theme from the film ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

''.

Cast

Guest Starring: *

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'' and ''Harry & Paul'', and for the creation and ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

. Narration was commonly by

Simon Greenall Simon James Greenall (born 3 January 1958) is an English actor, producer, writer and voice artist. He has portrayed Michael in the BBC television series ''I'm Alan Partridge'', as well as in '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa,'' the Caretaker in t ...

. However, the second and fourth episodes of the first series, the first and third episodes in the second series and the first, second and third episodes of the third series were narrated by

Steve Edge Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on ''Starlings'', ''Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', ''Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'' and the satirical magaz ...

, Matt King,

Dolly Wells Dorothy Perpetua Wells (born Gatacre; 5 December 1971)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol. III, 2003, pg 3046 is an English actress and writer. She co-wrote and starred in the Sky Living series '' Doll & Em'' (2014–2015) with Emil ...

and

Kevin Bishop Kevin Brian Bishop (born 18 June 1980) is a British actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Jim Hawkins in ''Muppet Treasure Island'', Stupid Brian in ''My Family'', and Nigel Norman Fletcher in the 2016 revival of ''Porr ...

in the guise of the lead characters

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Heather Mills Heather Anne Mills (born 12 January 1968) is an English former model, businesswoman and activist. Mills first came to public attention in 1993 when she was a model and was involved in a traffic collision with a police motorcycle in London. T ...

and

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

respectively.

Awards and nominations

Viewing figures

*Episode one: 3 million (14%) *Episode two: 2.6 million (11%) *Episode three: 2.9 million (13%) *Episode four: 3.1 million (14%) **Average: 2.8 million (13%) The show's second series attracted over 2 million viewers.

Episodes

Series One, 2006

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

- 'Our Story' #

- 'Watch Without Prejudice vol.1' #

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Known for her versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed ...

- 'Her Quest To Prove Herself... And Also Find Love' #

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

- 'The Wife's Life' #

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

- 'My Side Of The Story' #

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

- 'The One Where Jen's Husband Dumps Her For A Total Bitch'

Series Two, 2007

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

- ' Barlow Productions Presents: Take That - Why Our Success Was Nothing To Do With Robert Williams' #

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

- The Church of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

Presents: ' Being Tom Cruise - How Scientology Isn't In Any Way Mental' #

SyCo Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2005 through So ...

Productions Presents: 'Simon Cowell - My Honesty, My Genius' #

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

- The State of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Presents: 'The Ballad of Britney Jean'

Series Three, 2008

- David Furnish Presents Elton John 'The Patron Saint of Celebrities' #

- Heather Mills Presents Mills and McCartney 'Why Paul is a total bastard' #

and

Jordan (Katie Price) Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Page 3 in the British ...

- Peter Andre Presents Me and Katie 'How the moneymoon never ends' #

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

- Top Shop Presents Kate Moss 'My rise, fall, rise, fall again and then rise' #

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

- Bono Presents Christ 2 'My story'

DVD releases

In the UK a DVD containing all six episodes from Series One, an on-set diary, out-takes, music videos, deleted scenes and rehearsals was released on 30 July 2007. The second series was released on DVD on 17 November 2008. On the same day a boxset was also released containing both series. A DVD with all five episodes from Series 3 was released on 27 July 2009.

Overseas

In the United States, ''Star Stories'' began airing on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...

on 15 August 2008. In Australia it is shown on

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

and repeated on

ABC2 ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

References

External links

*
''Star Stories''
at Myspace
Stories''
at

* *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, star_stories 2006 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings 2000s British comedy television series Channel 4 comedy Television series by All3Media