A collection of familiar faces made up the judging panel for heat 35 of series three. Derek Hobson was the host and the judges were Mickie Most, Martin Jackson, George Elrick and Jimmy Henney.

The seven acts looking to progress to the final All Winners Show of the series were;

• Geoff Taylor (singer) from Essex
• Feminine Touch (vocal / harmony trio) from Manchester
• Johnny Lancaster (comedian / instrumentalist) from Portsmouth
• Colin ‘Fingers’ Henry (piano / vocal / comedy)  from Doncaster – Incorrectly listed as Colin Limbers in The Stage
• Philadelphia Express (six-piece group) from Liverpool
• David Duvant (mindreader) from Lancashire
• Plain & Fancy (vocal / harmony trio) from London

The judges decided that singer Geoff Taylor was the top scoring act of the show and he progressed to the final All Winners show of the series.

Just six months before appearing on the show the vocal harmony trio Feminine Touch were one of two support acts for Mud on their 18 date tour of the UK. The trio were at one time known as The Tender Emotion and with lead vocalist Hazel Copeland joining existing members Brenda and Lynda the group delivered a balanced blend of sound.

Comedy instrumentalist Johnny Lancaster not only plays the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, penny-whistle, piano as well as singing he had also previously appeared on rival show Opportunity Knocks in January 1974. The group Philadelphia Express also are listed as a winner of Opportunity Knocks in a September 1977 advert, but I have been unable to verify if their reported win was before or after their appearance on New Faces.

Speciality act David Duvant was a ‘world-famous’ mind reader from South Africa and should not be confused with the similarly named English magician David Devant who died in 1941.

The viewers winner was novelty pianist Colin ‘Fingers’ Henry who surprised the audience with his speciality act of playing piano while standing on his head.  Since his appearance Colin has become a specialist in after dinner entertainment and his clean humour and superb piano playing have endeared him to audiences worldwide, including cruising with P&O Cruises, Fred Olsen, Royal Caribbean & Saga.

In 1978 Colin appeared on TV again alongside New Faces series three winner Marti Caine, Roy Castle and Sacha Distel on BBC’s Seaside Special from Torquay.

In 2016 he appeared on the auditions of ITV’s Britian’s Got Talent and impressed the judges to make it through the the next round, but was eliminated before the semi final stages and did not progress to the week of live shows.  Colin also appeared on the 4th Best of British Charity Variety Show in Doncaster in November 2019 with Darren Day and another former New Faces contestant, comedian Mike Lancaster.