Leicestershire get real

Shipla Shetty: lined up as a host © TWC

Reality TV may make most people despair, but it could soon be unearthing England's future cricket stars. That, at least, is the theory. Cricket Star - created by the former Channel 4 analyst Simon Hughes - is pulling in big viewing figures in its first series in India.

It beat all other reality-TV shows during its first 10 days on air - and India is reality mad. Hughes is hoping to bring the show to the UK this summer and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty - recently seen in Celebrity Big Brother - has been approached to front it.

Auditions across 11 Indian cities brought in 25,000 hopefuls. That number was whittled down to 22, who all live together in the Cricket Star academy in Mumbai. They are filmed 24 hours a day. The winner will be handed a year-long professional contract with Leicestershire.

"I'm very keen to bring it to the UK, but it's very different to India," says Hughes. "It's a really hard sell. Broadcasters grimace at the word 'cricket'. But the programme is only a third cricket; it also explores personal relationships."

The show was Manoj Badale's concept, he is chairman of Investors in Cricket, the group which runs Leicestershire's commercial arm. Badale asked Hughes to flesh out the idea. And as with the Indian version, Hughes wants celebrity judges and a glamorous host.

So is Hughes a fan of reality TV? "There's a distinction between the two types of reality TV. I love them when they're skill-based, like Strictly Come Dancing. People have to put a lot of hard work into them. But programmes like Big Brother and that jungle programme I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! are just a load of crap."