For the final show before the series Gala Final the professional panel were Mickie Most, Noel Edmonds, George Elrick and John Smith.

The seven acts they scored for the last place in the Gala Final featured two show winners, four viewers winners and one act that was invited back based on success of multiple previous appearances in the series. They were;

• Judy Peers (vocalist) from London – winner show 4.30
• Frank Leyton (vocalist) from Manchester – shows 4.28 & 4.29
• Bodean (five-piece group) from London – shows 4.18 & 4.25
• Gingham (five-piece group) from North Yorkshire – show 4.27
• Glen Curtin (vocalist) from Dublin – winner show 4.31
• Linda’s Latin Lovers (five-piece group) from the North East – show 4.21
• Eve Adam (vocalist) from London – shows 4.10, 4.11 & 4.25

There would normally have been a guest act on these ‘winners’ shows, however I can’t find any record of a guest on this show and with a full roster of seven acts it is unlikely that one appeared, although TV Times suggested that a guest act would appear.

The ‘guest’ act may well have explained the appearance of vocalist Eve Adam who twice, previously in this series, had been voted the viewers panel winner and had therefore already appeared on two previous Viewers Winners shows (4.11 and 4.25).  The producers had decided to invite Eve back due to her popularity with the viewers.  Mickie Most, judging a show featuring Eve for a third time, commented ‘I think I’ve seen more of Eve Adam than I have of my own wife recently.’

By appearing on this show Eve made her fourth appearance of the series and equalled the record number of appearances by a single act held by Lenny Henry, Les Dennis and the group Sparrow, who had already booked their place in the series Gala Final.

It was fourth time lucky for Eve as she was the professional panel act of choice and she booked herself a place in the Gala Final the following week, breaking the record for the most appearance by a single act in a single series of the show with a guaranteed fifth performance.

Fellow finalists Sparrow would also be making their fifth appearance on New Faces in the same Gala Final, however, their appearances were spread between series three and four.

One notable omission from this particular Winners and Viewers Winners show were the Liverpool teen group Our Kid.  The group had been voted winners by the viewers panel on All Winners show (4.22), so should probably have featured, however, they were in the middle of a summer season in Great Yarmouth, so may have been unavailable for the recording due to their contract.

They had also attracted the attention of the local education committee who were concerned about the school hours the four youngsters were missing. They had already been ‘banned’ from appearing on Blue Peter as they were refused a performance licence by the Liverpool Education Committee, so this may also have been a reason why they had to wait until well into series five to get their long overdue viewers winners appearance.

Runner-up on this show was vocalist Frank Leyton, who performed the Neil Sedaka hit The Hungry Years, which he believes was his best performance of his three appearances. Frank, real name Milner, hasn’t sung professionally for over thirty years but is still involved in song writing and has a small recording studio in his loft.

Thanks: Eve Polycarpou (Eve Adam) for recalling and sharing the comment Mickie Most made about her multiple appearances.
Frank Leyton for the name of the song he performed and the update on his singing career.