
The search is underway for the UK’s top amateur piano players, some of whom will get the opportunity to perform in one of the country’s most famous locations after participating in the reality series The Piano.
This Channel 4 show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, who has lately helmed popular reality shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Sewing Bee, and The Traitors, is a completely new offering.
The Piano, created by the makers of The Great British Bake Off, follows amateur pianists as they give it their best on public pianos in train stations throughout the UK.
What’s the catch? They have no idea they are being discreetly monitored by two celebrity judges: Mika, the Lebanese-British pop sensation, and Lang Lang, the Chinese superstar classical pianist.
Competitors will perform in stations such as Leeds, London St Pancras, Glasgow, and Birmingham, with the best going on to perform in front of thousands of people at the Royal Festival Hall.
Here’s all you need to know about the Channel 4 series before it premieres tonight.
What is The Piano?
According to the show’s official description, “nonagenarians who have been playing for 80 years to 12-year-olds who have never performed in public before” will perform.
According to Channel 4, some of the pianists trained themselves to play the classics while others pushed against the odds to perfect Chopin while being blind.
Commuters in railway stations around the country will be stopped in their tracks as ‘heartfelt, emotive, and inspiring performances’ take place.
Who hosts The Piano?
Claudia Winkleman has hosted many television shows since 1997, most notably Strictly Come Dancing, which she joined in 2010 following seven years hosting Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.
She has also served as the host of Hell’s Kitchen, The Great British Sewing Bee, Britain’s Best Home Cook, and The Traitors.
Claudia, 51, recently told Radio Times that she became’slightly infatuated with a lad called Jared who plays the piano in St Pancras in the first episode’ while working on her current project.
Jared, a 21-year-old truck technician from Kent, learned to play in lockdown by watching YouTube videos.
When does The Piano start?
The series starts on Wednesday February 15 at 9pm.
It will run for five episodes over the coming weeks.