Fame Academy

Fame Academy was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise Star Academy known under various titles in various countries. In the UK version, the prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one year. It was broadcast by the BBC and co-produced by an Endemol company called Initial. The first series was won by David Sneddon and the second and final series by Alex Parks. Starting in 2003, Comic Relief Does Fame Academy saw celebrities singing as students of the academy with proceeds from the phone votes being donated to the charity. Format The format was originally created in the Netherlands under the title Star Maker, and has already achieved major success around the world (especially in France and Spain) under the titles Star Academy and Operación Triunfo. A German version also called Fame Academy had been launched in 2003 on RTL II with far lesser success.