Starstruck

Like a modern day Notting Hill, the love story was sparked by Matafeo's Jessie sleeping and falling in love with a movie star named Tom Kapoor (Nikesh Patel). Despite many ups and downs, and Tom's agent Cath (Minnie Driver) warning him against dating a 'civilian', the two stuck it out through to series two.

But the second series, which aired in 2022, explored what happens after such a fairy-tale ending, and the drama came to a head in the finale after Tom found out that Jessie had accepted a job from her librarian ex-boyfriend Ben (Edward Easton).

Co-written by Matafeo, Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson, the upcoming six-part third series of Starstruck will continue to tell the story of millennial Londoner Jessie (Matafeo) as she faces the consequences of being romantically entangled with the famous movie star Tom, played by Nikesh Patel (Four Weddings And A Funeral).           

Co-written by Matafeo, Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson, the six-part series will return to the story of Jessie (Matafeo), a job-juggling East London millennial who finds herself in a complicated romantic entanglement with the famous film star Tom (Nikesh Patel, Four Weddings And A Funeral).

His work straddles the worlds of TV and film, and includes The Last Kingdom, Starstruck, Rocks, Ali & Ava and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

What does the job involve?

I implement the final visual look of a production, integrating all its elements, including the shot material and visual effects (VFX). Ideally, you shouldn’t notice what I do because the idea is to create a connection with the viewers that leads them naturally through a show emotionally.

Almost exactly two years ago, I was invited by this magazine to muse on what was then a wave of “sad-coms” or “dramedies”, those shows playing not quite for laughs but more for wry, sympathetic chuckles at the vicissitudes of life. The success of Detectorists, Back to Life, Don’t Forget the Driver, Ricky Gervais’s After Life, Mum and This Country served to prove that small-screen gags would, from now on, be accompanied by gulps in the throat. 

Murs will be joined by a celebrity panel including singer and actress Sheridan Smith (Gavin and Stacey), Queen frontman Adam Lambert, comedian Jason Manford and the musical star and soul icon Beverley Knight.

The new format will see talented members of the public step up, perform and transform into their favourite singing artists, such as Amy Winehouse, Ariane Grande, Lady Gaga, Marvin Gaye and Michael Buble.