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: “I joke that Sinitta needs to focus more on what she’s doing than what she’s wearing. Those weird, wacky outfits!

“She’s certainly extrovert, but with a body like that, who can blame her? She’s 40 and looks amazing.”

Ian also shared his thoughts on the other members of the panel, saying: “David’s a truly unique man, if stark, raving mad. Brian Friedman’s a very capable choreographer. Apart from the odd delusional moment, he knows what he is talking about.”

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.

Next Saturday 26th May, the four remaining BOYS will compete in their semi-final. Two boys must leave at the end of this show and give up on their dream to play Danny Zuko.

The following Saturday the 2nd June, the four remaining GIRLS will battle it out to stay in the competition in their semi-final. Two girls must leave at the end of this show.

On Saturday the contestants had to compete in new couples. To give the contestants their biggest challenge yet, they had been split from their current partners and given new partners to perform with just for one night.

The judges favourite couple by far tonight was Danny Bayne and Michelle Antrobus. They said they were just like Danny and Sandy.

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).

Tonight was a night of surprises all round and they included:

* Brian Friedman told Michelle Antrobus she looked gorgeous and revealed that she was like his first girlfriend, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt.
* Vicky Hoyles appeared on stage with her partner Michael Quinn yet shockingly was not wearing her engagement ring. A further blow for her fiancé in the audience Ben Jardine came when at the end of their performance, Vicky and Michael shared a passionate kiss.
* David Gest revealed that Hayley Clarke was his favourite because she was “sexy, sexy, sexy.”
* Alison Crawford revealed that she had spent the week pulling Anthony Kavanagh’s “strings” to get him in shape for this week and David Gest particularly noted hat he looked fitter.
* David Ian told Susan McFadden that she gave a leading lady West End performance and that she must be in the competition next week.

The favourites this week:

David Gest: “My favourites are Danny and Susan and Anthony and Alison”

Sinitta: “For me tonight it was Richards vocals, Laurens growth and Anthony’s charisma. Their partners need to step up their game.”

David Ian: “There were no disappointments but Michael emerged as a leading man tonight. Vicky you listened and played sweet and vulnerable. Disappointing wise, Richard the movement worries me.”

Brian Friedman: “Richard and Jo, you stepped it up this week and I enjoyed that. Bradley it was dead end and you have to step up the game vocally.”

The results are in and the two couples to face the sing off are Michael Quinn and his partner Vicky Hoyles and Richard Morgan with his partner Joanna Power.

With one last chance to impress the Judges and prove they have what it takes to be the next Danny and Sandy both couples have to perform for one last time with a special rendition of the Grease classic You’re The on The I Want.

The couple leaving the competition are…

With David Gest delivering the verdict he announced that the Judges had chosen to save Michael and Vicky. So for Richard and Joanna it is the end of the road and their Grease journey is over. Leaving only six couples to fight it out next week.

Performance running order and Judges comments:

Up first tonight were Danny Rhodes and Lauren McConnell singing What a Feeling from the movie Flashdance:

David Ian – “Danny that was not your greatest vocal performance. Lauren I think personally you held that number together. The braces have come off! I thought it was great. Not sure I’m looking at Danny and Sandy though.”

Brian Friedman: “Your teeth look amazing (Lauren has had her braces removed). I thought the solo performances were great. Harmonies didn’t click for me. Lauren you have a huge career ahead of you with that voice if you don’t get to be Sandy.

David Gest – “I gotta tell you, last week I told you that you gave the best vocal performance. Earlier I heard you and it was not the best rehearsal and tonight it was brilliant. It came back together. The chemistry was stronger and stronger. It was like magic. The two of you are like dynamite.”

Sinitta – “It was strange choice of harmonies but Lauren you are blossoming in front of our very eyes. The baby girl is going to fly away.”

Michael Quinn and Vicky Hoyles singing Up Where we Belong from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman.

At the end of their performance, they shared an intimate kiss.

David Ian: “ Michael you reminded me of Michael Buble. That song, I liked it vocally. Vicky you were sweet and vulnerable and you listened to the notes and at the end there was real romance. You were not cabaret!

David Gest: “This is the fist time I’ve really loved your performance. I loved the ending. I loved the sticky kiss at the end!”

Brian Friedman: “Michael you are growing on me that’s all I have to say. We are seeing you as a West End star now. Vicky, we have to watch out about your vocals not overpowering your partner. Tonight you calmed it down and blended well with him and I really enjoyed your performance. But, is your fiancé not going to be upset about that kiss? (Michael’s response: “Its all about becoming the characters and this competition is all about acting. We both have beautiful partners that we share!”

Sinitta: “ Vicky, you’re so sweet and so pretty. Michael I think your father will be proud of you.”

Wayne Smith and Hayley Clarke singing when You Say Nothing at All from smash hit movie Notting Hill.

David Ian: “What’s great about tonight is you were staged apart yet you were connected throughout the whole song. That’s acting that’s what I need.”

Brian Friedman: “What I love is you took us on a journey. It started smooth and soft and with a song that doesn’t build much you managed to build mountains and you’re the best dressed and (to Wayne) I want those shoes!”

David Gest: “Hayley you get sexier and sexier every single week. What I love about you two I that you didn’t take it for granted what I said last wek, you worked hard and the chemistry is 100% there. It was a great performance and you made it a great song.”

Sinitta: “It was so lovely, so convincing. I love the way you look at her Wayne and she’s blushing and Hayley, the way you look at him like you would follow him to the ends of the earth – that’s what we need.”

Richard Morgan and Joanna Power singing Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me from the film Lost Boys.

David Ian: “Sinitta is right Richard. You are a great singer and I am happy to say that, you blasted Joanne out of the water. This is about more than that. Movement in the first number was worrying. With the acting you didn’t connect. This is a singing dancing and acting but the singing was good.”

David Gest: “Richard I think your vocals are great – you’re a great pop singer. Joanne we need some work on. It was a little weak tonight and you need some work on it. The chemistry was better but I’m still not convinced yet.”

Brian Friedman: “It was not bland or boring tonight! Richard, without the dancing being an element tonight I really enjoyed your performance and you should be thankful there is none. Joanne whatever you lack vocally you make up for in ambition and this can get you so far in this industry.”

Sinitta: “You look beautiful tonight and I can see all your passion. Richard you are first a father, second a builder and thirdly an amazing vocalist. Amazing. I think you guys will be safe tonight.”

Anthony Kavanagh and Alison Crawford singing Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now from 80’s classic movie Mannequin.

“Alison, I’ve been pulling a few strings – he’s been working hard this week.”

David Ian: “Anthony, that was a great vocal performance. I loved that. Kavanagh is back. Alison you’re not the best singer but you’re the best performer in my opinion and as a couple I love you.”

David Gest: “Holy Foccacia you finally got it and it’s about time. I mean you look thinner, you sounded great, This is the star that you are. Alison, what a great vocal. You two are Sandy and Danny. That’s what we want from you.”

Brian Friedman: “You sell everything that you do Alison. Anthony I loved that performance, it was star quality and I felt like I was watching a musical awards there.”

SInitta: “Your whole vibe is so cheeky and sexy and you push each other and support each other loved it – loved it.”

Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden singing Time Of My Life from the movie Dirty Dancing.

David Ian: “The show has been amazing. You were a great singer Danny tonight. Susan, that was a West End leading lady performance. Susan you must be here next week.”

David Gest: “This has now become a real competition. This was the best performance Danny, you have ever given the best vocals I have ever seen from you. You sang with such force. There was a great chemistry.”

Brian Friedman: “Tough love truly works – you guys stepped it up tonight. You are the best of the night vocally.”

Sinitta: “Susan you don’t need to cry. You’re not going anywhere. You’re great. Susan we though you were stronger than Danny but tonight I couldn’t take my eyes off you Danny.”

Bradley Clarkson and Michelle Antrobus singing Against All Odds from the film Buster.

After an emotional week, Michelle was on the verge of tears throughout her performance.

David Ian: “The thing I like about you two is that you are the best two actors in this competition. You have a great personal relationship and vocally you have to work. It’s not exciting. It’s not bad but it’s not the wow factor. If you get back next week you need to work on that.”

David Gest: “It started off slow but it built – a great performance.”

Brian Friedman: “Michelle you look gorgeous. You look like my first girlfriend Jennifer love Hewitt! Bradley it was more dead end and Michelle you were more West End.”

Sinitta: “You got worked up but you needed that kick up the butt and you pushed it tonight. Be confident. It was a passionate performance.”

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.

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’).

I am really looking forward to Grease coming to our screens. I wonder if the auditions threw up as many freaks as the X Factor manages to attract?

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.”

Presenting the show for ITV1 is presenter and self confessed Grease superfan Zoe Ball and Holly Willoughby will be getting all the backstage gossip and behind the scenes action for ITV2’s spin off show, Greased Lightnin’.

Of presenting the news series Zoe Ball said, “I remember seeing Grease for the first time when I was 7 years old and I loved it. I learnt all the songs off by heart, and I just wanted to be one of the pink ladies at Rydell High, they were so cool! I’ve watched Grease over and over since that special day when I queued for ages outside the cinema, and I am just as hopelessly devoted to it now as I was back then. So you can imagine how delighted I am to be presenting Grease Is The Word – it’s so exciting, I can’t wait to be a part of it!”

Preliminary auditions have been held across the country and thousands of hopefuls have applied in a bid to win one of these infamous roles. Auditionees must prove that not only are their singing, dancing and acting skills up to the job, but that ultimately they can reprise the sizzling chemistry of Grease’s most famous leads John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.

The Sandy and Danny wannabes are set to be put through their paces, all hoping to secure themselves a place at “Bootcamp”. Then over the course of three days the hopefuls will be whittled down to just eight couples who will go forward to the live stages of the show and the public vote. Only one couple will make it through to take to the stage in the West End production.

Co-produced by talkbackTHAMES and Simon Cowell’s production company Syco TV the series will air on ITV1 from April with the access all areas show Greased Lightnin’ airing on ITV2.

The new West End production of Grease will be produced by Paul Nicholas and David Ian and will open in July. Tickets go on sale from the end of March.