The Stage

Chit Chat - Greased fighting

Published Monday 2 April 2007 at 11:20 by Tabard

Tabard has learnt that Stage 100 two-time number one David Ian comes in for a bit of a rough time on forthcoming reality TV series Grease is the Word.

Some fierce sniping has been aimed his way and it’s not from anyone working on rival talent search Any Dream Will Do, but rather a source a little closer to home.

Fellow Grease judge David Gest - yes, that one who was married to Liza Minnelli.

Speaking at the launch of the show, Gest told the assembled hacks: “David [Ian] - truthfully he’s a nice guy, but he’s got the brain of a pea. David has some talent, but we’re still trying to find it.”

Meanwhile, all the co-judges jokingly refer to the producer as “Sir David Ian”, which he isn’t, yet.

And, if that weren’t enough, in one of the show’s opening episodes, all three of his co-judges gang up against him to vote through a female contestant, simply because she has taken a shine to the perma-tanned producer and they think it would be funny if she was given the chance to sleaze on him a little more.

Ian, quite understandably, is not impressed with all the antics. “I think we’ve had a couple of moments when various people on the panel have been more concerned about having fun on a reality TV show than they have about casting Danny and Sandy for the West End,” he complains. “That’s my main concern. So there have been some fraught moments.”