Grease Is the Word
Encyclopedia
Grease Is the Word was the UK
version of NBC
s 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 David Ian
(the producer of the stage show and the 2007 Broadway revival), David Gest
, 80s star Sinitta, and American Dance Icon 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 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 was not based (at least directly) on the How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
format, which is owned by the BBC.
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.
Richard & Joanna
Wayne & Hayley
Bradley & Michelle
Danny R & Lauren
Danny B & Susan
Anthony & Allison
Michael & Vicky
newspaper revealed that 1990's popstar Kavana
had reached the live final stage.
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
.
Susan is also the younger sister of former Westlife member and current solo artist Brian McFadden
.
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."
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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
version of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
s 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
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
).
The winning couple, Susan McFadden
Susan McFadden
Susan McFadden is an actress and singer born in Dublin, Ireland. She is known for playing the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical in London at the Savoy theatre.- Biography :...
& Danny Bayne, went on to star in the new West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
.
The judges were David Ian
David Ian
David Ian Lane , is a former actor and now a theatre producer who The Stage has called "the most powerful man in UK theatre".-Biography:...
(the producer of the stage show and the 2007 Broadway revival), David Gest
David Gest
David Alan Gest is an American concert promoter and media personality, perhaps best known for his turbulent marriage to Liza Minnelli, friendship with The Jackson 5 and appearance on the 2006 series of the British reality television show I'm a Celebrity.....
, 80s star Sinitta, and American Dance Icon and former The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
judge Brian Friedman
Brian Friedman
Brian L. Friedman, is an American dancer and choreographer, and has created the choreography for many popular music artists - such as Britney Spears, Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey - as well as for music videos, concert tours and television and film productions.-Early life:Friedman was born in...
. The main ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
show was presented by Zoë Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
, and Holly Willoughby
Holly Willoughby
Holly Marie Willoughby is an English television presenter and model, known for her work in presenting children's TV and entertainment shows. In her early career she modelled underwear and went on to present CD:UK...
presented Greased Lightnin on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
. Greased Lightnin shows extra unseen auditions, behind the scenes gossip and exclusive interviews with the judges and contestants.
Cat Deeley
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...
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
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. 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?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a British television talent series, that was broadcast on Saturday evenings on BBC One between 29 July and 16 September 2006. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew...
format, which is owned by the BBC.
Format
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.
Original Couples
Tom & KateRichard & 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 Susan McFadden Susan McFadden is an actress and singer born in Dublin, Ireland. She is known for playing the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical in London at the Savoy theatre.- Biography :... (24) |
WINNER | Viewers |
| Danny Bayne (19) | WINNER | Viewers |
| Anthony Kavanagh (a.k.a. Kavana Kavana Kavana is a British singer and actor.-Career:He released two albums Kavana and Instinct and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "Crazy Chance"... ) (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 |
Press Revelations
On Saturday 7 April 2007, the first day of the shows airing, The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper revealed that 1990's popstar Kavana
Kavana
Kavana is a British singer and actor.-Career:He released two albums Kavana and Instinct and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "Crazy Chance"...
had reached the live final stage.
On 22 April 2007 it was announced that Hayley, one of the final 16, is the daughter of the actor, Michael Starke
Michael Starke (actor)
Michael Starke , is a British actor best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for 16 years in the soap opera Brookside...
who starred as Sinbad in Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
and also appeared in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
Susan is also the younger sister of former Westlife member and current solo artist Brian McFadden
Brian McFadden
Brian Nicholas McFadden , is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the Irish boyband Westlife...
.
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."
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.
External links
- Grease Is the Word at Reality Central
- Grease Is the Word at Unreality TV
- Grease the Musical