As Paul Welsh reminded us, TV talent shows are not a new invention! New Faces (made by ATV and later Central TV) and Opportunity Knocks (made by Thames TV and later BBC1) are just two of the TV talent shows that have graced our screens over the years.

The much-missed Marti Caine started her TV career thanks to New Faces (which was made at ATV's then studios on Broad Street in Birmingham) and later went on to present the series herself from the Birmingham Hippodrome in the mid-to-late Eighties.

With Britain's Got Talent having recently drawn high viewing figures, it can only be a matter of time before Simon Cowell starts to look at making spin-off TV shows for the most-popular stars the show has created. But this would also not be a new idea!

Paul Welsh recalled going to ATV Centre in Borehamwood (now BBC Elstree) to see both Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood appearing in New Faces. But I wondered if this show was actually an edition of The Summer Show (please let me know Paul!)? This was an ATV spin-off show created for some of the most-popular stars that New Faces had introduced to the TV viewers.

Starring Marti Caine, Aiden J Harvey, Lenny Henry, Victoria Wood and Trevor Chance, this five-part spin-off series was made and broadcast in 1975.

The Summer Show was written by Bryan Blackburn, Dick Vosburgh and Tony Hawes was directed by the legendary Peter Harris and produced by Colin Clewes.

This fast-paced series included both comedy and music and included then-future Price is Right host, Leslie Crowther.

I hope that the various new stars of our modern TV talent shows will also be given a chance to appear in such a series!

Incidentally, going back to BBC Elstree, the complex played host to Opportunity Knocks in the late Eighties and early Nineties when Les Dawson took over as host from Bob Monkhouse.