Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream won’t be returning

Zoe Ball and Alan Carr’s TV show, Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, has been cancelled after just one season.

Despite featuring a celebrity panel and discovering new theatre talents, the musical talent show will not return for a second series.

The programme, which aired on ITV and was filmed in the picturesque setting of Corfu, aimed to find new stars for the lead roles of Sophie and Sky in the West End production of Mamma Mia!, which features the music of Abba.

The competition was fierce as 14 contestants, seven men and seven women, competed for a coveted spot in the iconic musical. The judging panel included not only Alan and Zoe but also Glee star Amber Riley, theatre actor Samantha Barks, and pop singer Jessie Ware, with Mamma Mia’s creator Judy Craymer leading the selection process.

The winners of the show, Stevie Doc and Tobias Turley, successfully debuted on the West End stage at the end of January as the show celebrated 25 years in London.

However, the future of the TV show itself was not as promising.

Host Zoe shared on Radio 2 that there are no plans for a new series.

“We’re not going back to Corfu,” she explained. “This time last year we were packing our bags to go there but – and it’s a shame.”

Alan Carr, who served as a judge on the show, expressed his affection for the programme, saying, “I loved doing that show.”

The show’s format, reminiscent of earlier BBC talent searches like How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do, had potential for adaptation into further series but will not continue.

In a statement, ITV said: “Mamma Mia I Have A Dream was commissioned to celebrate 25 years of the musical, so was only ever intended to be a one off series. The show sought to find a new Sophie and Sky, who are now starring in the West End musical”