THEIR idea was dubbed Stars On Mars, but I can reveal how the brainboxes behind the latest wacky TV project have been brought back down to Earth with a bump.
The show, being developed by Britain’s Got Talent makers Thames, would have sent celebrities dressed as astronauts to live in a space simulation of the red planet.
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There, they would take on tasks in the style of I’m A Celeb and face elimination if they failed to complete them.
The final “celebronaut” left standing — or floating — would be declared the winner.
But the project has been axed before even making it to the production stage.
This is despite a US version of the series, featuring Star Trek legend William Shatner, being developed by the Fox channel and broadcast in 2023.
A TV insider said: “Blame the new space race courtesy of Elon Musk for sparking a renewed interest in all things extra-terrestrial.
“It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a concept combining this kind of subject with a an idea based around celebrities.
“But it’s understood that initial soundings suggested there might not have been a long queue of stars forming to take part.”
Names of potential famous faces and even a presenter were being touted around at one stage two years ago.
The idea was initially greeted with some warmth as it was a departure from the usual dating and cookery shows.
But ultimately execs did not think the idea was out of this world.
CLARE’S 11 WORST CELEBS
CLARE BALDING has revealed she keeps a secret list of sports stars she doesn’t like – which she calls “The W*****s Eleven”.
The TV host has interviewed many famous faces from the worlds of tennis, horse racing, rugby and the Olympics, noting who behaves badly.
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She revealed: “I keep a list and the list’s name is The W*****s Eleven.
“Some people go to the bench as subs if they suddenly are nicer than I thought they were going to be, then some new ones appear.”
Clare, who will be appearing on The Celebrity Traitors, told fans at a literary festival to promote her new novel Pastures New: “Sometimes people are rude because they are very nervous or because they are upset at something that has just happened.
“The difficult ones are the ones who know they should talk and they just don’t.”
THE Celebrity Traitors will launch on October 8 at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
A new trailer has been released showing the star-studded cast seated around the show’s round table as Claudia delivers an eerie warning: “Your glamorous lives count for nothing.
“Most of you will be murdered.”
GARY’S BUZZING FOR BOX
ITV has revealed ten celebs who will appear on the first series of Gary Lineker’s new show The Box.
The former Match Of The Day host is about to present the contest, which sounds like one of the most challenging on telly.
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The stars taking part will be Graeme Souness, Sara Davies, Ellie Taylor, Joey Essex , JB Gill, John Bercow, Shakira Khan, Danny Aarons, Jenny Ryan and Ranvir Singh.
Each celeb is put in a yellow box and must face a challenge in a mystery location when they get out.
Gary said: “The most successful teams are built on a mix of strengths and abilities. That’s exactly what we’ve got with this line-up.
“I’m excited to see the action unfold.”
2 TRICKY, ROM
THE Weakest Link is returning next month, and will once again see Romesh Ranganathan in the chair as quizmaster.
But the new series will kick off with a Radio 2 special, which means that the contestants will be some very familiar faces.
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They include Radio 2 stars, past and present, such as Scott Mills, Zoe Ball, Tony Blackburn, Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson.
Which might be a tad awkward for Romesh – who’ll have to send 14 of the 15 contestants home – as he’s also one of their colleagues.
At least the winner on the show, which airs on October 4, will bag a juicy jackpot of £50,000 for their chosen charity.
AMANDA HOLDEN’s certainly got a wide range of celebs in her new BBC One show, The Inner Circle, which begins next month.
The 36 names include Cold Feet’s Fay Ripley, actress Chizzy Akudolu, drag queen Lawrence Chaney, DJ Charlie Hedges and athlete Colin Jackson.
