The man behind ITV’s reality TV show, Grease Is The Word, has announced that Grease will be his last reality show EVER!

The theatre producer told The Sun’s TV Biz: “I’ve got my Sandy and Danny and sold £6million of tickets already. It’s been great but it was a one-off — I have no plans for another.”

After Simon Cowell’s recent criticism of the ITV TV show, Grease Is The Word, it seems that David Ian cannot wait to praise the show and his fellow judges.

He told Now magazine Read more & comment »

There was a huge shock in store for the contestants at the end of the show last Saturday. After the losing couple left, David Ian revealed that from this point on the contestants will compete INDIVIDUALLY. Having been able to rely on a partner for support and encouragement, each contestant must is now out for themselves. Read more & comment »

From the thousands of people who initially auditioned, tonight just seven couples remain and their fate is quite literally in your hands.

With the shock departure last week of favourites Kate Somerset-How and Tom Bradley, the contestants know they need to up their game to win public votes and stay on in the competition.

This week the theme is classic movie songs and with a focus on vocal performance, the contestants are feeling the pressure.

Judging are the celebrity panel, Theatre Producer, David Ian, Choreographer to the stars, Brian Friedman, West End star Sinitta and Showbiz Producer Mr David Gest but ultimately the decision rests in the publics hands. At the end of tonight, the couple with the lowest public vote will leave the competition for good. (See below for Judges comments and performance running order). Read more & comment »

It’s started already. Judges feud usually don’t start until the audition stage has passed, but David Ian has already laid the boot into David Gest, I wonder how long it will take for him to retaliate?

Mr Ian has called into question Mr Gest’s place on the show saying:

“At times I find David extremely irritating. Once during filming I just got up and walked out. I’d had enough. If I didn’t have such an important role in the whole thing I wouldn’t have returned.”

“I’ve been exasperated with all the judges for not concentrating as much as they should. I audition people every day. I’m struggling to work out why David and Sinitta are there.”

“He is one of the most ‘different’ people I’ve ever met. He’s nice enough, but has some very strange, mad moments. I just hope he starts to concentrate more, or the toys might be coming out of the pram.”

And so it begins……..

Grease Is The Word will launch on ITV this week and the hunt will begin for the West End’s new Sandy and Danny.

At the launch party for the show in London last night, it was revealed that the winners of the show will be contracted to perform in eight shows per week despite the recent injury that Connie Fisher sustained while performing the same amount.

Connie won the BBC’s ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria’ last year and has subsequently been playing Maria in the West End Sound Of Music stage show. She had to pull out of a number of shows earlier this year and is currently performing with the aid of a backing track due after damaging her vocal chords. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has revealed that he feels responsible for Connie’s illness as she insisted on performing eight shows per week, when he should have insisted on six.

David Ian, judge on Grease Is The Word and producer of Sound Of Music claims that Connie’s injury was sustained due to her singing while ill with a cold. He assures us that eight shows a week, while playing Sandy and Danny is the absilute norm.

He said: “Danny and Sandy will be contracted to do eight shows a week, which is absolutely the West End norm. It’s not always normal for certain roles but I’ve always contracted Danny’s and Sandy’s to do eight shows a week and subject to them being fit, healthy and well, they’ll be on stage for eight shows a week.

“Maria in The Sound of Music is a huge thing and Connie would be the first to admit that the mistake she made was to sing through a cold. Maria has considerably more to do than Danny and Sandy. Grease is very much an ensemble piece.”

Phew! I’m just back from a whirlwind trip to the Grease Is The Word launch party in London.

Those guys at ITV know how to throw a party - from the pink carpet outside the venue as I arrived to the T-shaped stage, everything was Grease-themed from the get-go. Even the London Eye has been coloured pink for the event (and will remain pink for the next few days).

The Preview

We were treated to previews of the auditions and the ITV2 show, Greased Lightnin’. If you’re a fan of The X-Factor, you’re going to love GITW (yes, I had to shorten it!).

All the golden elements of reality TV contestants are here: complete wackos, talented unknowns and…drumroll…. a failed 90’s pop star hoping for a career comeback. That brings back memories of Peter Andre and Andy Scott-Lee and the cast of Re-born In The USA… We love 90’s pop stars - we were there first time round!

The ITV2 aftershow, Greased Lightnin’ looks set to be a lot of fun as well, providing the usual opportunities to get closer to the contestants and find out more about them.

Judges and Presenters

After a few drinks, the presenters (Zoe Ball and Holly Willoughby) and three of the judges (David Ian, David Gest and Sinitta) were brought on stage for a Q&A session. Holly looks much cuter in the flesh, by the way.

David Ian came across as very business-like. He said “We’re looking for Danny and Sandy for the live show and rehearsals will start immediately after the final.” He also revealed that they are auditioning for the rest of the cast simultaneously, and that some auditionees who didn’t make the show are being considered for other roles. So there may be more than a few unknowns in the final stage show which will be opening at the Piccadilly in August

When asked if he was worried about GITW going head-to-head with the BBC’s Any Dream Will Do, David replied that he thought it was fantastic for the theatre industry that there are two primetime shows centred on casting for West End shows.

David Gest thinks that Grease has stronger songs than Joseph, and will triumph because it’s more popular.

Judge Rivalry

Expect tensions between David Ian and David Gest (who’s swiftly being renamed DG). I’m not sure how authentic the verbal sparring is between the two, but a few insults were traded on the night!

It looks like Sinitta is taking the role of ‘fair’ judge. She said that she thinks David Ian is the toughest judge, but from what I saw, David Gest was being the most blunt a la Cowell.

Having said that, if I’m A Celebrity turned David Gest into a household name, his role as a judge in GITW will seal the deal. The entire room was guffawing at some of his comments to awful auditionees.

The Grand Finale

To finish off the launch, there was a performance of songs from Grease by the cast of the West End show, including Hayley Evett of Pop Idol fame as Sandy. A very nice end to an exciting evening, and thanks to the nice folks at ITV for inviting us along!

Recently named ‘the most powerful person in British theatre’ by The Stage, David Ian is one of the most successful and prolific producers in British theatre today.

His smash hits include some of the best loved and most talked about productions of the last 20 years including Guys And Dolls, The King And I, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Anything Goes and The Producers, to name but a few!

David’s career in theatre began as an actor in West End roles such as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was while appearing in The Pirates Of Penzance, at the London Palladium, that he met Paul Nicholas and together they began producing shows.

In 1993 David took his biggest gamble, taking out a second mortgage to finance the West End production of Grease. The gamble paid off and 13 years later the show is still playing to sell-out houses across the world.

David was appointed Chairman of Global Theatre for Live Nation in 2005. His role there encompasses the running of production activity worldwide, overseeing the programming of over 50 theatres.

David, co-producer of The Sound of Music, was one of the judges behind the BBC’s successful series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

He has once again decided to work his magic as a judge and has signed up for the US and UK version of Grease Is The Word, the search to cast a Sandy and Danny for Broadway and the West End.

The New York Post reported that after the NBC debut of Grease: You’re The One That I Want, the Grease production on Broadway sold $1.3 million of tickets in just two days.

Grease Is The Word is due to hit our screens very early in April on ITV.

The show will follow a similar format to the BBC show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, and during the course of the show the producers hope to fill the roles of Sandy and Danny Zuko for Grease the stage musical. Read more & comment »

ITV have today announced the lineup of their judging panel for their newest reality show ‘Grease Is The Word’.

Putting his reputation on the line judging the potential hopefuls, as well as producing the eventual winners in the new West End show, is renowned theatre producer David Ian. Joining David on the judging panel is; I’m A Celebrity favourite, multimillionaire American showbiz impresario and producer David Gest, American choreographer Brian Friedman and The X Factor mentor, 80’s pop icon and West End star in her own right Sinitta (Mutiny, Hair, What A Feelin’).

David Ian said of taking part in the series, “I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted to be working with ITV on this project looking for a brand new Danny and Sandy for the West End production of Grease. It’s so exciting to be looking for genuine new UK talent to fill the boots of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John and to perform in one of the greatest musicals of all time.” Read more & comment »