Fame Academy Contestants

Alex Parks

Alex Parks
Age: 19
From: Truro, Cornwall

Alex was born and bred in the pretty village of Mount Hawke on the Cornish coast. She loves surfing and hanging out on the beach and has fronted a surf-rock band.

Aside from her singing abilities Alex has loads of circus performing skills and can mime, juggle and does a bit of magic. She is also learning to ride a unicycle.

Alex has been writing rock songs since the age of 15 and has been performing since her early teens too. Her favourite artists are Ani Di Franco, Annie Lennox, Skin and Jimi Hendrix.
Alex says she would love to release her own album and be happy!

Fame Academy Contestants

Alistair Griffin

Alistair Griffin
Age: 25
From: Whitby, Yorks

Alistair has worked as a milkman and studied English Literature and History at university. He says he hates people who are mean with their money and is always the first at the bar!

A big Middlesbrough football supporter Alistair tries to get to games as often as possible - usually with his mum who's a huge fan! His musical influences include Oasis and The New Radicals. He's had lots of performance experience and has fronted a couple of bands, plus he's worked as a compere and sung at a promotional event in the slipper department of a well known High Street store!

Alistair says his dream come true would be to perform on Top Of The Pops with David Brent from The Office as a backing dancer.

Fame Academy Contestants

Audley Anderson

Audley Anderson
Age: 31
From: London

Londoner Audley used to work as an IT analyst but has recently been concentrating on his musical career.

His first musical appearance was as the Little Drummer Boy in a school nativity when he was nine years old, but he didn't start performing seriously until he was 24.

When he's not making music he loves nothing more than hanging around with his family and friends. Audley loves working out and tries to get to the gym every day. He adores designer clothes and admits to having a phobia about needles.

Jodeci, The Temptations, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder are his favourite artists, though his musical hero is James Ingram. Audley says he wants to be more than just an artist - he wants to make his name in the music industry as a whole.

EXPELLED - 9th Aug

Fame Academy Contestants

Barry McKeeve

Barry McKeeve
Age: 25
From: Lurgan, Belfast

Barry lives just outside Belfast and works as a process operative in a factory.

He only started singing at the beginning of the year. He sang karaoke one night at a bar after a few drinks, and his friends encouraged him to enter a talent competition, which he won.

Barry's parents have been extremely supportive of his singing and helped him out with music PA equipment so he could perform locally. He now plays regularly in pubs and clubs and has built up a big following.

Robbie Williams is Barry's absolute musical hero, but he also loves Elvis, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.
His ambition is to be able to perform on "the biggest stage ever," but he also says he wouldn't mind learning how to play the guitar.

EXPELLED - 7th Sept

Fame Academy Contestants

Carolynne Good

Carolynne Good
Age: 22
From: Leeds, Yorks

Leeds born and bred, Carolynne commutes regularly between her hometown and London.

Her whole family are huge rugby league fans and Carolynne regularly attends matches and says many of her friends are rugby players. Carolynne loves dancing, customising her own clothes, and chilling out when she gets free time.

She'll miss reading celebrity magazines and has a phobia of bare feet. She's worked as a cheerleader and a club dancer and once performed the hokey-cokey for Will Smith.

Carolynne's musical influences include Shania Twain and she loves Marti Pellow, Lenny Kravitz and Christina Aguilera.

Fame Academy Contestants

Gary Phelan

Gary Phelan
Age: 21
From: Cramlington, Northumberland 

The former sales assistant has always adored music and performing. He started playing the piano at the age of nine, and as a little boy produced mini fashion shows for his parents, where he'd dress up in super hero costumes and choreograph routines!

Gary says he loves singing in front of an audience, just give him a mic, and watch the magic happen! Music isn't his only love though. Gary's other hobbies include kickboxing and basketball and going to see lots of indie gigs, but he hates giant spiders.

Gary's musical inspirations are Robbie Williams and Lenny Kravitz, but he's also a fan of Oasis, Stereophonics and U2.

EXPELLED - 20th Aug

Fame Academy Contestants

James Fox

James Fox
Age: 27
From: Cardiff

Cardiff born James moved to London earlier this year where he shares a flat with Tony from pop band Liberty X.

James obviously adores guitars - he has five of them! He also plays the drums, and started piano lessons at the tender age of seven.
He's a big snooker fan, loves Chinese food and claims he's never read a book.

James has plenty of performance experience and has entertained British Forces troops in Bosnia and The Falklands. He's also worked as a session singer, toured with Liberty X and performed in clubs, pubs and in school bands.

Sting inspired James to become a musician and he says Billy Joel is his biggest idol. He'd love to release an album of his own material, and to see his Gran's face when he signs a record deal!

EXPELLED - 20th Sept

Fame Academy Contestants

Lorna Grant

Lorna Grant
Age: 20
From: West Lothian

Nursery assistant Lorna lives just outside Edinburgh with her parents. She has been performing since the age of eight, when she started attending stage school.

Lorna has heaps of performance experience and appeared in lots of shows through her stage school and during her course at The London School Of Musical Theatre, which she attended for a year.
In her spare time, Lorna likes to go for walks or hanging out in the local pub with her mates. She says she couldn't live without her deodorant and her concealer!

Lorna's favourite artists are Bob Segar, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne and Neil Diamond. She also loves Celine Dion, who she describes as her musical hero.

EXPELLED - 16th Aug

Fame Academy Contestants

Louise Griffiths

Louise Griffiths
Age: 26
From: Hertfordshire

Louise has worked as a Door Host at some top London nightspots, but has recently spent her time concentrating on her musical career. The 26-year old used to be the lead singer in a girl band and once sang for Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.

Louise has been playing the saxophone for seven years, and has reached Grade 6, but music isn't her only love, she's a great sports fan too and enjoys playing squash, tennis and basketball. Louise adores Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Destiny's Child.

The Hertfordshire girl also has a very famous boyfriend, none other than Formula 1 Racing Driver Jenson Button, who she's been dating for three years.

EXPELLED - 30th Aug

Fame Academy Contestants

Nick Hall

Nick Hall
Age: 29
From: Birmingham

Business manager Nick is engaged to Becky and they plan to get married next year. He lives in Birmingham where he's worked in the automotive industry since leaving school.

In his spare time Nick's pretty sporty and loved mountain biking, squash and he used to skydive regularly. He loves Italian food and fast cars too.

Nick plays a wide variety of musical instruments, including the saxophone, guitar, piano and digeridoo. George Michael is his ultimate musical hero but he also rates Sting, Steve Wonder, Seal and Dire Straits. His biggest fear is growing old without achieving his goal.

EXPELLED - 13th Aug

Fame Academy Contestants

Paris Campbell-Edwards

Paris Campbell-Edwards
Age: 23
From: South East London

Paris was born in Greenwich, London, but has lived all over the country, and even spent a while living in Norway.

Paris' family is very musical and both his parents had success in the music business. In his spare time the 23-year old likes going to clubs with his mates, but he also likes to spend time with his family.

He started really concentrating on his singing and music at the age of 15 and has fronted a band as well as performing in bars and clubs.

Paris plays the guitar and the piano and is a huge fan of Prince, Stevie Wonder and Terence Trent D'Arby. He says his ambition is to be successful, and his biggest fear is that he won't be.

EXPELLED - 13th Sept

Fame Academy Contestants

Peter Brame

Peter Brame
Age: 24
From: Colchester, Essex

Cheltenham born Peter now lives in Colchester and works as a management trainee, but has always made time for his music, performing in local pubs and bars and fronting a few bands.

His previous jobs include labouring, stacking fruit and vegetables in a supermarket and working in a sports shop.

Peter has a history degree and is pretty sporty too - he plays football and golf and is a talented chess player. He also taught himself the guitar when he was 17.

The self-confessed indie kid says he'll miss his mum's lasagne while he's in The Academy, and claims he cannot live without his CD collection, his stereo, guitar and underwear! His favourite artists of all time are The Beatles, The Verve, Libertines and Oasis.

EXPELLED - 27th Sept

Fame Academy Contestants

Simone Stewart

Simone Stewart
Age: 21
From: Harrow, London

Student Simone has just finished a degree in English and would like to do a Masters in journalism if her musical career doesn't take off.

She lives at home with her mum, dad, sister and brothers and is heavily involved in the local church where her dad is the bishop and her mum is the church councillor.

Simone has been singing in her church's gospel choir since she was 15 and she's been performing in a three-piece group for the last few years too. She's shared the stage with Mis-Teeq and Damage and performed in Holland and South Africa.

As well as reading romantic novels and thrillers, Simone admits to loving badminton and she's recently joined a gym. She isn't very keen on insects and says her worst habit is picking her nose!
Simone loves rock, RnB, soul and pop music. Her favourite artists include Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child and Coldplay.

EXPELLED - 23rd Aug