| Grease Is The Word | |
|---|---|
| Format | Reality Talent show |
| Created by | Simon Cowell |
| Presented by | Zoë Ball |
| Starring | Brian Friedman, David Gest, David Ian, Sinitta |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | talkbackTHAMES in association with SYCOtv |
| Running time | 60-90mins (inc. ads) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV (ITV1/STV/UTV) |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | 7 April 2007 – 9 June 2007 |
Grease Is the Word was the UK version of NBCs Grease: You're the One that I Want!. It aired during Spring/Summer 2007, and was produced by Syco TV (the production company of Simon Cowell).
The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne, went on to star in the new West End production of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre.
The judges were actor and theatre producer David Ian, concert promoter and media personality David Gest, former popstar and television personality Sinitta, and choreographer and former The X Factor judge Brian Friedman. The main ITV show was presented by Zoë Ball, and Holly Willoughby presented 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 on the show but could not as it was shown at the same time as American Idol where he was contracted to appear as a judge. He was still an executive producer.
Unlike the NBC series, the ITV programme was not based (at least directly) on the How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? format, which is owned by the BBC.
Contents |
After the traditional auditions, the final sixteen were paired up. From show four onwards each couple had to sing a duet, based on a theme. The two couples who gained the least votes, each week, had to sing again, this time a 'Grease' classic. The judges then eliminated one of those two couples.
After three couples had been eliminated, the judges changed the couples, eliminating again one of the two lowest vote getting couples.
The following two weeks, were the Danny and Sandy semi-finals, respectively, with the singers competing as soloists, with the judges eliminating the first and the viewers the second victim of the nights. The final consisted with the final two Dannys and Sandys, with the public voting which two should win the roles.
Tom & Kate
Richard & Joanna
Wayne & Hayley
Bradley & Michelle
Danny R & Lauren
Danny B & Susan
Anthony & Allison
Michael & Vicky
| 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) | 9 June | Viewers |
| Michelle Antrobus (24) | 9 June | Viewers |
| Vicky Hoyles (22) | 2 June | Viewers |
| Alison Crawford (25) | 2 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) | 5 May | Viewers |
| Tom Bradley (19) & Kate Somerset-How (23) | 28 April | Viewers |
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.[1]
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 also appeared in Coronation Street.[2]
Susan is also the younger sister of former Westlife member and current solo artist Brian McFadden.
Just after week three of the live shows, it was revealed that judge David Ian and the other judges 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." [3]
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 9 June.[4]