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Let It Shine – in no way like The Voice. Not one bit

Never let it be said that telly types are running out of ideas how to entertain the nation on a Saturday night. Oh no.

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Saturday sees the return of The Voice on ITV. It used to be on BBC1, but now it will be back with Will.i.am, a couple of new judges, and the return of Tom Jones.

To fill the hole in its schedule, the BBC turned to the nation’s favourite tax avoider, Gary Barlow, for its own singing talent contest, Let It Shine.

Simon Cowell is said to have consulted his lawyers over any resemblances to The X Factor, although in truth it is more a throwback to those Andrew Lloyd-Webber shows like How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Let It Shine – let it be said – is nothing like The Voice. It’s a completely different show. Here’s seven reasons why.

1. Let It Shine has four judges. The Voice doesn’t have judges, it has four “coaches”.

2. The Voice is looking for one singer, Let It Shine is looking for five, all of whom must be able to do a passable impression of Take That.

3. Let It Shine has Martin Kemp of ‘80s popsters Spandau Ballet. The Voice has Gavin Rossdale of ‘90s rocksters, Bush. Stop sniggering at the back.

4. The Voice’s chairs spin round. The chairs on Let It Shine have no angular momentum (but they are easier to pick up).

5. Let It Shine will feature lots of Take That songs. Definitely Back for Good. And Pray. The Voice won’t.

6. The Voice has got Tom Jones, who once said the talent on a previous series of the show was “shit”. He later took it back.

7. Let It Shine has two presenters – Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc. The Voice has only got one – Emma Willis. She used to present it with Marvin Humes, but now he’ll be watching from home.

Totally different, then.

But if you’re not a fan of this sort of thing, try Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney, on BBC2, in which Mark Owen and Rita Ora investigate neolithic life at the Ness of Brodgar on the Orkney Islands.