Olly Mur has revealed that he submitted an audition for 90s show Stars in their Eyes before he found X Factor fame in 2009.
The 37-year-old added that he’s scared his audition clip of a Ronan Keating track will be unearthed, as he sat down on ITV ’s This Morning sofa for Friday's show.
Speaking with presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, the Heart Skips a Beat hitmaker confirmed he did audition for the hit talent show “many moons ago”, before it went off the air in December 2006.
He said: “They didn't call me up - luckily, thank god they didn't. I sent a video of me singing Ronan Keating's track Life Is A Rollercoaster.”
He added, laughing: “I'm not going to do it today because it's horrendous but I never got the call.”
Olly said that he told ITV bosses he had auditioned for the show when he was interviewing for his new role as the presenter of eerily similar talent contest Starstruck.
He added: “I honestly think that clip is going to come out at some point.”
At the beginning of their interview, Alison said the new show Starstruck, which sees contestants become iconic artists for one night only as the judges size up their star power, reminds her of Stars in their Eyes.
The similarity was also noticed by ITV viewers when the singing competition debuted, but Alison added: “it obviously is a completely different concept”.
Olly Murs admitted they are similar, because of the transformation element, but then said: “The difference with this show is we've got a judging panel, which is incredible.”
He said: “Then you get of course the fact there's three of them. It's really great fun. We had such a great time filming it.”
Singer Adam Lambert sits on the judging panel alongside actress Sheridan Smith, comedian Jason Manford and recording artist Beverly Knight.
The performers undergo an “extraordinary transformation” to embody their idols, with the contestant transformations on the first episode ranging from Freddie Mercury and Marvin Gaye to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga.
Olly said of presenting: “I haven't done it for such a long time. Of course the last time I did it was with Caz on X Factor in 2015.
“I stepped away from it and then went on The Voice, but I've been waiting for a new show to come along, something that was interesting, that was fun, something that matches my personality.”
He said “hats off” to fellow X Factor presenting alum Dermot, as he acknowledged how difficult the job can be.
He said: “I've always said that presenting is so much harder than being a judge - you sit there as a judge or coach on The Voice and I can just say what I want, do what I want but being a presenter is a lot more.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.
