Final part of documentary looking back on the golden era of boybands

He’s become an ITV stalwart since Pop Idol turned him into the man many viewers loved to hate thanks to his rather searing views on people’s talents, and apart from random appearances on Top Gear, that’s pretty much where he’s stayed – on British TV at any rate.

However, he’s one of the faces featured in this three-part documentary, which reaches its conclusion this week, discussing the rise and eventual fall (at least temporarily) of some of the biggest boybands to grace the charts during the 1990s and 2000s.

Last week, we were treated to the first two episodes back-to-back, which examined the battle for supremacy between East 17 and Take That before focusing on what happened in the aftermath of the latter group’s members’ decision to go their separate ways in 1996.

“It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it not being what you imagined, centred on a generation of young men, and their managers, who were wildly successful and also immensely vulnerable, having the times of their lives and also in some cases cracking up,” says executive producer Louis Theroux.

“Those boys we all watched singing and dancing in tight formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle aged men who have the time and the maturity to look back and reflect on what they went through. It’s taken us more than a year to make the series.”

“It feels like yesterday but the Brit boyband era began 35 years ago, and what a fascinating moment in time and pop culture it was,” adds Jonathan Rothery, head of BBC Popular Music TV. “The series will take us on a trip down memory lane but will also enlighten us, that behind the singing, dancing, double denim and bright smiles were a heck of a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

If you missed them, the first two episodes can be found on the BBC iPlayer, and lead nicely into the third and final edition, which picks up where its predecessor left off.

The likes of Blue and, from across the Irish Sea, Westlife are about to appear and fill the void left by previous ensembles. Success comes quickly, but for some members, life in the limelight proves almost unbearable. Meanwhile, Take That, minus Robbie Williams, are thinking of making a glorious comeback…

If all this puts you in the mood for the music itself, you’re in luck. Preceding the episode is another chance to see clips from the archive of Gary Barlow and co in Take That at the BBC.

Then, at 11.15pm, after another edition of Later…with Jools Holland, comes Westlife: Radio 2 Live 2021, in which Zoe Ball introduces a performance by Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan recorded at the Ulster Hall in Belfast during their first post-lockdown gig.