“David Gest is just crazy. I think something’s the matter with him. I mean, he’s got
a great heart and he’s a great guy but he’s all over the place!”

He has impeccable credentials, having choreographed everyone from Beyonce to Prince, and judging on the US talent show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’. He boasts Britney Spears as a best friend, and has a passion for high-end fashion: Brian Friedman is more than prepared for the judging panel on Grease is the word. But are we ready for him? They may be dazzled by his good looks and American charm, but one thing that the other judges and contestants need to watch out for is his absolute honesty and acid tongue.

What do you think of your fellow judges?
“Well, before this I’d never met any of them. I knew who David Ian was because of the US series Grease: You’re The One That I Want. And I knew who David Gest was, of course, because of Liza Minnelli; but Sinitta was new to me.

“I actually like David Ian a lot; he’s reputable, he’s a great producer, and we have a lot of the same views on different contestants even though we don’t necessarily express our views in the same way; we are on the same page.

“David Gest is just crazy. I think something’s the matter with him! I mean, he’s got a great heart, he’s a great guy, but he’s all over the place! The stories that come out of his mouth - his maid Vaginica and all those other things! It’s gross! Everything that comes out of his mouth is just disgusting and vile. It’s hard to handle.

“I like Sinitta a lot. She’s someone who I could see myself being friends with, definitely. We seem to be synchronising our outfits as well, completely by accident! For instance, on one day of filming we both came in head-to-toe in Vivienne Westwood!”

What do you think you bring to the judging panel?
“I am the main person with a choreography background so I know that am I the wisdom when it comes to dance ability.

“Beyond that, I’m an artistic director as well so my job is about getting the contestants to be 100% comfortable on stage, dealing with the acting in their performance and the vocals too, making it all work while they’re dancing.

“And also, I’m just looking for that ‘It’ factor. Knowing what works and doesn’t work on a stage.”

What are you looking for in your ideal Sandy / Danny?
“I am looking for star quality. For Sandy I’m looking for vulnerability, a sweet, sweet girl that you know underneath can be dirty! You can kind of tweak her dancing and make it look cute, so she doesn’t really have to be the best dancer in the world to pull it off.

“Danny wins the dance competition in this musical so he really has to be a good dancer and he’s got to be macho. He has to be loveable, he has to be attractive and he has to be charming. All the girls need to want him and all the guys want to be him. So that’s difficult.”

What’s your favourite Grease moment?
“When I first saw Grease I was really young and my favourite scene was when Sandy comes out in that black catsuit with the cigarette and her hair is fluffed. That is an iconic image for me, and Olivia Newton-John really did it justice so we need to find someone who can be sweet with the same sexy quality.

“I also really like Summer Lovin’. That was absolutely one of my favourite songs from the movie.”

In your high school yearbook, what would it read?
“I think it would probably say that I would have been most likely to be President of the United States. I like to run things, I’m very ‘in-charge’.”

What character did you most identify with when you were a teenager?
“I think Rizzo. Mind you, if this is about high school I was a virgin throughout, and then I left! I quit normal school and did school at home so that I could work in the professional industry; but I was definitely cool enough to be a T-Bird when I was at school.”

Why do you like Rizzo as a character?
“There’s something about her character, the sad quality that draws me to her. She has damaged herself so much at a young age. I think people who damage themselves young end up growing up to be better people.”

You’re friends with Britney Spears - has your shaved hairstyle influenced hers?
“I don’t think that my hairstyle inspired hers but I definitely think that if we all just keep shaving our heads the world will follow! We’ll start a trend.

“Britney is a close friend and we speak a lot. She actually gave me a beautiful ring on New Year’s Eve. We were getting together what she was going to be wearing for the night and there were so many outfits to choose from. I was packing up the jewellery and she slid this ring on my finger and said ‘Now we’re twins!’ as she had one too. It’s a gorgeous ring and I wear it with pride!”

What would you most like to achieve through doing this show?
“I want people to be aware of dance as an art form and know that it’s not just fun and games; it’s art. People look at film as art, they look at sculptures and paintings as such, but they don’t think of dance and movement as being art and I’d like to change that.”