Grease Is the Word is the UK version of NBCs Grease: You're the One that I Want!. It was announced on December 20 2006 by ITV,[1] it was to air in Spring/Summer 2007. The show is produced by Syco TV (the production company of Simon Cowell).
| Grease Is the Word | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | Zoë Ball |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Producer | talkbackTHAMES in association with SYCOtv |
| Running time | 60 - 90 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 7 April, 2007 – 9 June, 2007 |
The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne, will star in the new West End production of Grease.
The judges are David Ian (the producer of the stage show and the 2007 Broadway revival), David Gest, 80s star Sinitta, and American Dance Icon and upcoming The X Factor judge Brian Friedman. The main ITV show is presented by Zoë Ball, and Holly Willoughby is presenting Greased Lightnin on ITV2. Greased Lightnin shows extra unseen auditions, behind the scenes gossip and exclusive interviews with the judges and contestants.
Cat Deeley was originally scheduled to present the show, but had to pull out at the last minute due to scheduling difficulties with her American shows. Simon Cowell was also supposed to be a judge but could not as it was shown at the same time as American Idol. He was still an executive producer.
Unlike the NBC series, the ITV programme will not be based (at least directly) on the How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? format, which is owned by the BBC.
Original Couples
Tom & Kate
Richard & Joanna
Wayne & Hayley
Bradley & Michelle
Danny R & Lauren
Danny B & Susan
Anthony & Allison
Michael & Vicky
Finalists
| Couple/Act | Date of Elimination/Winning | Decided by |
| Susan McFadden (24) | WINNER | Viewers |
| Danny Bayne (19) | WINNER | Viewers |
| Anthony Kavanagh (a.k.a. Kavana) (29) | 09 June | Viewers |
| Michelle Antrobus (24) | 09 June | Viewers |
| Vicky Hoyles (22) | 02 June | Viewers |
| Alison Crawford (25) | 02 June | Judges |
| Michael Quinn (24) | 26 May | Viewers |
| Danny Rhodes (22) | 26 May | Judges |
| Bradley Clarkson (25) & Lauren McConnell (16) | 19 May | Viewers |
| Wayne Smith (26) & Hayley Clarke (18) | 12 May | Viewers |
| Richard Morgan (20) & Joanna Power (22) | 05 May | Viewers |
| Tom Bradley (19) & Kate Somerset-How (23) | 28 April | Viewers |
Press Revelations
On Saturday 7 April, 2007, the first day of the shows airing, The Sun newspaper revealed that 1990's popstar Kavana had reached the live final stage. [2]
On 22 April, 2007 it was announced that Hayley, one of the final 16, is the daughter of the actor, Michael Starke who starred as Sinbad in Brookside and currently appears in Coronation Street. [3]
Susan is also the younger sister of former Westlife member and current solo artist Brian McFadden
Show Controversy
Just after week three of the live shows, it was revealed that judge David Ian and his colleagues decided to change the couples pairing.
David Ian gathered the finalists at the Picadilly Theatre in London's West End to tell them that the judges "hadn't got it right with the pairs." [4]
On the fourth live show, David Ian announced live on the programme that from week five, the finalists would no longer be partnered up. The Danny hopefuls would compete against each other, live on week five's show, and the Sandy's on week six of the show. Each of the Danny and Sandy specials eliminated 2 of the 4 hopefuls thus leaving only 4 finalists for the final vote on June 9th [5]
References
- ^ "Grease Is the Word for Cowell". Manchester Evening News. 20 December, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Kavana in the final ten". The Sun. 7 April, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Grease Is the Word finalists revealed". NewzLine.com. 22 April, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "All change for the Grease couples". Grease at itv.com. May, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Finalists now single in Grease". Grease at itv.com. May, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- Grease Is the Word at itv.com
- Grease Is the Word at Reality Central
- Grease Is the Word at Unreality TV
- Grease Is the Word at IMDb
- Grease the Musical
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