Day 7: Wednesday 13 August

Stress is flying around the Academy as tonight's live showdown draws near.

Nick confessed to the other boys that he was fed up with the way things are going.

Even last night's musical battle of the sexes couldn't stop Alistair and James from feeling depressed as well.

Cracking voice

But the students felt a bit better after vocal coach Carrie gathered them to talk about their fears and hopes.

Carolynne and James spoke about their fears of giving a bad performance and getting chucked out of the Academy.

Paris confessed how worried he is about his voice cracking, while mopey Nick is stressed about his inexperience.

Luckily a happy mood returned, after the students took time-out for games between dress rehearsals.

Banned Barry

Sadly Barry, who's got a bad throat, has been ruled out of tonight's live performance because of his illness.

Which means he won't be doing his rendition of Joe Cocker's With A Little Help.

Day 6: Tuesday 12 August

Another day of serious fitness is depressing some of the students, especially Alistair and Lorna.

Alistair who came out of the session looking worse for wear confessed to Carolynne in the garden that he couldn't remember the steps.

Lorna, who also couldn't hack it, opened the flood gate of complaints from the gang after complaining about serious pains in her arms.

But the gang's spirits were boosted with a few words of wisdom from Kevin.

Barry the patient

Meanwhile poorly Barry's spirits are on the rise after being shown a videotape made for him by fellow students.

After watching the tape the giggly Barry promised that he will be back, and said he missed the gang loads.

Later on

After a meal, the students gathered for a little chat about their best chat-up lines and most memorable parties.

But the highlight was when the students had a go at their first songwriting lesson with tutor John, which went on till bedtime.

John was quite chuffed with their talents!

Day 5: Monday 11 August

Kevin's class is already getting to the students, with Nick struggling to make it through the whole session.

He was working out so hard that he started going dizzy and had to stop for a drink of orange juice.

Kevin checked he was okay, gave him some tips on looking after himself, and then got him moving again - there's no rest in the Academy!

Barry's bug

But Barry didn't even start the session.

He's got a throat bug so has been put in a room on his own so no one else can catch what he's got.

Alex nearly missed the session after turning up late, but she arrived quickly once Kevin started shouting for her to get a move on.

There was some good news for Barry though, after he was tipped to win the show by James.

Bigging up Barry

James said he thought because Barry was inexperienced he would be more eager and hungry to win the show.

Louise and Paris have been around a bit, and they talked about some of the rejections they've face.

Louise was told she was too pretty to be a singer and Paris was told to be a rapper not a singer.

But they're both in the Academy now, so what do those people know?!

Day 4: Sunday 10 August

It might have been the morning after their first showdown, but there was no special treatment for the 12 remaining Academy students.

They didn't even have time to miss expelled student Audley as lessons kicked off as normal.

They were up at 7.30am and straight into key-check lessons with Carrie and David after breakfast.

Germs

Then it was time for some one-to-one coaching - but not for Barry.

The poorly Belfast lad has been sent to live on his own at the top of the house while he recovers from a throat infection.

They don't want him near the students and teachers in case he spreads his germs.

We reckon he'll miss Carolynne the most as his flirting has moved up a gear in recent days.

Next showdown

"Me and you are gonna go and get married," he told the Leeds lass at one stage.

Meanwhile, the other students are already practising their songs for the next showdown on Wednesday.

Indie kid Peter's not happy with the number he's been given - Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen.

"I don't like the original. I don't like Queen," he grumbled.

Day 3: Saturday 9 August

There were probably some aches and pains in the Academy this morning, following the excitement of last night's limbo competition.

Barbecue

Audley and Paris set up the game after the students had enjoyed a barbecue.

Some people proved better limbo dancers than others - with Alex and Simone taking tumbles!

Kickboxing

Afterwards, Paris and Carolynne sneaked off to do a bit of kickboxing and judo together.

Tonight one of the students will be evicted in the first showdown final.

They didn't seem too stressed.

Stylist

After brekkie, they got some advice from a stylist about their showdown outfits.

James was advised to wear sparkly underwear under his clothes!

After a morning of preening, it was down to the serious business, with a sound check and rehearsals for the show!

Day 2: Friday 8 August

Fitness coach Kevin literally kicked off day two for the students with his morning fitness class.

The students found themselves punching, jumping, bouncing, kicking and generally getting very hot and red in the face.

Most students managed to keep up with the fast-paced routine.

But not Peter. He seemed to be several seconds off the pace, with his legs and arms whirling around.

Fame costs

There was no stopping the lean, mean, fitness machine Kevin, who shouted "fame costs" as the sweaty students started to get tired.

Paris told vocal coach David that he had hurt his shoulder in a pillow fight.

Alex, Paris and Gary felt that there was nothing better after their first day in the academy than to relax with a pillow fight before lights out.

Pillow Fight

Paris revealed that he had dislocated his shoulder three times, so it was weak and got hurt easily in the fight last night.

There were also some worries about Gary, who had broken his foot two months before coming on the show.

Gary's foot started hurt when he was jumping around on it during this morning's fitness class.

Day 1: Thursday 7 August

At last the day arrived when the final 13 Fame Academy students entered the house just after 11:30pm last night.

There seemed to be no nerves as the students started to get to know each other.

Paris, the stylish south east Londoner, made an alarming discovery; the house has only one mirror!

Early rise

The students had an early rise this morning when the song Wake Up Boo blasted out at 7:30 am.

The boys were the first to wake, being up before the morning song. But Lorna and Alex just wanted to snuggle further under their duvets.

There was no easy first day for the students as they each had individual key checks soon after breakfast.

This was followed by an official photo shoot and press conference in the sunny garden.

Hard work

Then the hard work really started. The students had half hour voice training sessions on their own up until 2pm.

The work is set to continue with dinner not being served until 8:30pm.

Chill-out time does not begin until after dinner when the students can have some well earned relaxation.