The Stage

BBC’s Joseph hunt increases lead over rival Grease

Published Monday 30 April 2007 at 13:15 by Matthew Hemley

ITV’s Grease is the Word had a disappointing run on Saturday night, with its first live show losing out once again to rival Any Dream Will Do.

The search for a new Danny and Sandy attracted 3.6 million people on Saturday April 28 for its 7.30pm show, a drop of 700,000 viewers on the week before, when it aired in the 6.40-7.40pm slot.

The second show at 10pm attracted 2.6 million, with an audience share of 12.2%.

On BBC1, 5.5 million people joined Andrew Lloyd Webber in his search for the next Joseph to star in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The show, broadcast head to head with ITV’s Grease is the Word at 7.30pm, had a 29.1% share of the audience and was up 200,000 viewers on last week. Its second show at 9.45pm had an audience of 5.3 million, a 24% share.

Antony Hansen and Seamus Cullen became the third and fourth contestants respectively to be booted off the competition, while Tom Bradley and Kate Somerset-How were the first couple to leave the Grease competition on ITV1.