Just when you thought that reality TV couldn’t get any freakier, along come those crazy TV folk with yet another mad-cap idea. Monkey Tennis anyone?

This time the concept is turning former pop stars and some folk I’ve frankly never heard of into opera stars, along the lines of BBC2′s Maestro, but less worthy presumably. And guess who we’ll get to judge it – Meatloaf and, er, Laurence Llewelyn Bowen. They should get along just spiffingly. It could be the greatest thing ever, but it probably won’t be.

And just when did Alex James, a credible bass-playing pop star with one of Britain’s most influential bands of the 20th century, become this cheese making reality TV star?

From Popstar to Opera Star, ITV1, Friday, 15 January 2010, 9pm to 10.30pm

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE CONTESTANTS TOGGED UP IN THEIR FINERY