Thank you, Simon, for bringing back the spice of life

7:00pm Wednesday 20th June 2007

By Hilary Porter

The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent mogul has put blood back in the veins of variety entertainment - and it's about time too!

In recent years the word "variety" has become a dirty word among TV executives who have cut budgets with an endless stream of mindless reality TV shows while talented entertainers have been left out in the cold.

Shows like Opportunity Knocks and New Faces might have been cheesy but they brought us the stars of an entire generation - Les Dennis, Little and Large, Bobby Crush, Stan Boardman, Pam Ayres and Freddie Starr all came to prominence through Opportunity Knocks.

Darren Day abandoned his two-year career as a professional snooker player when he appeared on the show. Roger de Courcey also gave up his career as an opera singer to hook up with Nookie Bear.

Ten-year-old Lena Zavaroni went on to present her own TV series and Neil Reid, on Opportunity Knocks in 1971, had a huge hit with Mother of Mine.

The judges didn't always get it right. The so- called "clapometer" on Opportunity Knocks was a farce - it saw Paul Daniels lose in 1969. (Some may argue it got that right!) Victoria Wood appeared on New Faces in 1974 and was told: "She's sophisticated cabaret and there is no room for it - she'll never work."

The Simon Cowell of the era, Tony Hatch, was known as the hatchet man and recalled he couldn't get a cab for weeks after he was particularly critical one week.

TV shows of the new millennium like X Factor and Pop Idol brought thousands of wannabes into the limelight and paved the way for the variety show renaissance that is now happening.

We saw the signs with other new TV shows this year. The wacky Graham Norton hosted When Will I Be Famous? on BBC1 and Brian Conley hosted Let Me Entertain You on BBC2.

But neither of these really hit the mark. It took the talents of Cowell to really have us glued to our TV screens night after night.

The combination of the good, the bad and the downright ludicrous worked a treat. From the piano-playing pig to the rapping granny, the transvestite with a dwarf in her suitcase to line-dancing dogs, the eccentricity of the British was celebrated.

Then watching the real stars perform before judges Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan had my entire family glued to the live shows. Even my two-year-old son Jameson made knowing comments on the Saturday night final.

Watching Salisbury comedy puppeteer Damon Scott, he turned to me and said: "I like him!"

He jumped up and down clapping when six-year-old Connie Talbot sang and when opera singer Paul Potts made his winning performance, he said: "He's the best!" I was astounded at his understanding of it all.

I had another good reason to watch this show. Damon Scott won the Echo Star Trail talent contest back in 1999.

I was chairperson of the judging panel for 13 years and have always been a huge fan of Damon since he won our contest. He went on to represent Bournemouth in the British Resorts Association national final and I was truly euphoric when I watched him win in Leamington Spa.

As a result he went on to do a 22-date nationwide tour with Gene Pitney and was the subject of a BBC documentary which charted his success.

Sadly, the demise of variety meant he never became a mainstream star... until Simon Cowell created this show.

I spoke to Damon several times last week and he revealed all sorts of exciting opportunities are now in the pipeline which he will be discussing with Simon, who he is now contracted to, later this week.