Paddy McGuinness’s brand new show, Even Better Than The Real Thing, aired on Saturday night for a one-off special on BBC.
The show showed some of the world’s greatest tribute acts go head-to-head performing songs made famous by music legends.
But some viewers weren’t impressed and slammed the show for being “cringey” and accused it of being a copy of 90s classic Stars in Their Eyes.
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The show featured Amy Winehouse, Little Mix, Bruno Mars, George Michael and Whitney Houston tributes taking to the stage, with the audience voting for the ones they liked best.
But viewers weren’t keen on the new show and took to Twitter to slate the show.
One said: “I turned on the TV and I seem to have the worst of Butlins in my living room. Cringe. #evenbetterthantherealthing.”
Another agreed: “Car crash TV!!! So cringe!! #evenbetterthantherealthing.”
Others were quick to spot the similarities with Stars in Their Eyes.
A third tweeted: “#EvenBetterThanTheRealThing on ITV is basically Stars In Their Eyes for people who like to start drinking at 10.30 in the morning.”
Others weren’t impressed with the tribute acts either.
One said: “LIDL MIX #evenbetterthantherealthing.”
Another wrote: “Phil Collins!!? More like Phil Mitchell! #evenbetterthantherealthing.”
“It’s that supposed to be David Bowie? Looks like Danny La Rue #evenbetterthantherealthing,” another added.
But among the negative comments there were some viewers who enjoyed the show and were begging for more.
Earlier this year Paddy, 44, recalled the moment he got the call from the show and revealed it brought back fond memories of a trip to Las Vegas.
He said: “I was walking down The Strip and I saw this billboard sign for: One Night with the Vegas Legends, a show featuring tribute acts of Dolly Parton and Elvis.
“I thought it would be a giggle, so I went along to watch and I was blown away by how good these singers were.
“So when I was told that this show would feature the best tribute acts from around the world, it reminded me of that Legends show and I thought: ‘This’ll be good!'”
Hitting back at criticisms of it being similar to Stars in Their Eyes, Paddy said: “The main difference for me, as a fan of Stars in their Eyes growing up and then being involved in this show, is that these people are professional tribute artists from all over the world who do it for a living.
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“On Stars in their Eyes, someone will come on and say: ‘I’m Dougie, a plumber from Bradford and tonight I’m gonna be Sir Tom Jones’.
“There’s none of that on this show. These are genuine, first-class tribute artists and that’s their full-time job!”
The dad-of-three continued: “I’m very fortunate that I get offered TV shows, but nine times out of 10 – and you never know about it – I don’t do them, as something might not quite be right or I might not feel I can bring anything to it.
“We approached tribute acts from different countries, because they’re at the top of their game. I was just like: ‘Yeah, I’m in.’ I didn’t even read what it was about properly!”
Even Better Than The Real Thing is available now on BBC iPlayer.